Using goat's milk

[beebiz]

I want to use some concentrated/evaporated goat's milk to make some cp soap. I've read about how that adding the lye to it will make it overheat, smell bad, and turn brown. Since I have to combine 1 part evap. milk with 1 part water anyway, can I add the lye to just the water, let it cool down some, then add the appropriate amount of evap. milk? I thought this might keep down on smell and prevent the milk from discoloring.

Thanks in advance for your input!!

Robert

 

[justcrafty]

Hi Robert, Add your lye to the water part. When your oils and the lye are room temp slowly add the water lye mixture to your soap batch and stir. Then just add your milk and stir till blended. Then use your stick blender. I always freeze my milk and then put in the fridge and by the time I need it is just real slushy. The milk will not burn and you will not have a bad smell. I never add my lye to the milk. I never insulate my milk soaps either. HTH Judy

 

[beebiz]

Thanks for the input, Judy! Am I correct that I need to reduce the water by an amount equal to the amount of goats milk I will use? For example, if a recipe calls for 10 oz. water and I intend to use 5 oz. evaporated goats milk, I need to use only 5 oz. water... 5 oz. water + 5 oz. evap. goat's milk = the 10 oz. total called for by the recipe. Right??

Thanks again!!

Robert

 

[Guest]

BRB gotta go help the kids and i'll be back, i have your answer cause that is ALL I ever use !!!!

 

[justcrafty]

Hi Robert, That is right. When I use canned goats milk that is what I do. That way you are getting a batch with 100% goats milk because the canned GM is concentrated. For 10 oz = 5 oz water for the lye and 5 oz milk Judy

 

[justcrafty]

I use canned and powered GM. If I am using powered I make a concentrated Gm. Say I need 22 ounces of liquid I will half my water and then take the other half and make up my goats milk. The goats milk part will have enough powder that I would need to make up 22 ounces of milk. I would freeze my milk and take out of the freezer when I start to make my batch so I would end up with slushy gm to add to my soap batch after the lye and water has been added. Judy

 

[Guest]

Ok I’m back…….

All I ever use for goat’s milk is condensed evaporated goats milk in the tin. And I like it because it’s evaporated because I find that a huge bonus.

Yes you need to mix equal parts GM concentrate to a liquid. I did use to use water, however Paul turned me to using aloe vera juice. It can be found in your local wal-mart in with the laxatives on the bottom shelf in a gallon jug. And why not pack as much punch as you can with your soaps so out with the water and in with the aloe vera juice. And I use the aloe juice in place of the water.

I do wish that lye calculators would say liquid instead of water because there are so many choices to use as a liquid. From Goats Milk, cow’s milk in the form of skim, 2%, whole milk, buttermilk, and heavy cream. But another personal favorite of mine is tomato juice. So be creative as well.

Anywho, now consider this for example, say your recipe calls for 13.69 ounces of water. Divided by 2 is 6.845 ounces of GM and whatever other liquid you want to use. Or to make the most of your GM in the tin you can use 6 ounces of GM and 7.69 ounces of other liquid.

Because I don’t want to have to deal with freezing my milk so it doesn’t burn this is what I do. Also Paul suggested adding the goat's milk at trace instead of earlier in the process.

I take my ‘other liquid’ and in my case the aloe vera juice and I mix that with my lye and let it cool completely. Even making it up the day before if needed.

Then I take my oils and put them in a large tall plastic container. And I use my stick blender and blend them together. Sorta like creaming the butter and sugar together when making cookies. If you use a harder butter like mango butter or cocoa butter you may want to heat that slightly my weighing it separate and popping it into the microwave until it’s melted or softened up. Also if you add any beeswax or stearic acid this also applies. But I’d add just a little bit of my other oils to them just to melt them. Oh and don’t forget to weigh all your oils together in the same container and keep a running tally of the totals starting with the weight of the container.

Then once your oils are creamed, add in your lye/liquid mixture when it’s fully cooled and is room temperature. And use your stick blender and blend well until you have trace. Once you have trace you can pour in your concentrated Goats milk. Continue to blend till you have the trace you desire. Since my stick blender has different attachments it’s at this point that I swap out to use the whip attachment. And I pour in my premeasured fragrance oil and use that whip attachment to mix it in well. And then pour into my molds.

If you go to the tutorials section you will find my tutorial on how to line your mold with paper, and you will also see my super uber fancy mold.

But above all don’t forget to have fun !!!!

 

[beebiz]

Thanks to both of you for your help and suggestions. I like the idea of using the goat's milk right out of the can better than I do the having to freeze it first. Our freezer stays so full that there is usually not room for such things!

Faithy, I checked out your tutorial on the liner and on making your own lable. I loved both; and have both of them marked in my favorites!!

Thanks again to everyone for your help/suggestions!!!

Robert

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Hi Robert, The 'Ole Goat here. Faithy gave you great info! I use farm fresh (kinda) goat's milk, all I have ever used is GM in my soaps from batch #1! I started out using the Meyenberg Evaporated GM too. I then found GM in the dairy case. Since moving back to Missouri, I have a local source I trade soaps for older GM that he discards if he has to. I now use Farm Fresh but soured goat's milk. I let it sit in the 1/2 gallon glass milk jug in my soap room all the time, never put it in the fridge. I separates sometimes, and I shake it up every few days, but never curdles like bovine milk. It never really gets stinky, either! It makes a harder bar of soap because of the build up of lactic acid as it ferments! Great stuff! Faithy, you should try to get some dairy GM from Wal-Mart and try this method! It makes great soap, and it is NOT stinky!

I'm a GM soapier for life!!!!:wink:


Paul

 

[justcrafty]

Thanks so much Faithy and Paul for your wonderful info! I have used the GM in the dairy case and now is very expensive so I have continued to use meyenberg powder. When I was a girl my mother had stomach problems and she had to drink goats milk. We had goats and I remember mom letting it sour to make her wonderful biscuits. I had never thought about letting my milk sour for soap. I use aloe vera juice all the time as I love the wonderful soap it makes. Thanks again! Judy

 

[Chalk Creek]

If the store bought goat milk has been pastuerized, it will likely spoil, rather than sour. The heating process kills all the good enzymes the allow milk to sour. Same reason you have to add enzymes to pastuerized milk to make cheese with it. Pastuerization destroys milk and makes it rather unhealthy for table use, too.

Lots of info here:
http://www.realmilk.com/why.html