How to make Goat milk Soap?

Answer 1

Goat Milk Soap Recipe

This size recipe can be mixed with the electric mixer. The recipe can be doubled and mixed by hand with a wooden paddle. Have ready an electric mixer and 2 large bowls, stainless or glass (not plastic).

Mold: Can use styrofoam or an old cake pan. Have a piece of cloth ready to put on top of the soap and a lid to put on top of the cloth. Can be wrapped with a blanket or towels for insulation. (note from steve: I use glass casserole dishes well greased with vaseline. Don't try to grease with oil, as it will saponify! Clear plastic candy molds make nice little soaps, too.)

Fat: 1.5 lb melted fat (tallow, lard, tallow/lard mixture. Lard can be purchased in 1lb boxes.) Clarified fat, mixed pork and beef. If the fat has burned particles in it or is rancid, it can be clarified by boiling it up in a large pan with about a quart of water an then cooling it and scooping the clean fat off the top. The impurities settle to the bottom in the water. (note from steve: see the tallow making post for more information.)

Measure 1/2 can lye (6.5 ounces). Handle with great care. Pour into a paper cup. Make sure the lid is securely back on the lye can. Put 3 cups goat milk in stainless steel mixer bowl. Pour the lye in slowly, running the mixer on low. It will get hot and the milk turns golden as the chemical reaction takes place. Cool until about 85 degrees. May use dairy thermometer.

2 tsp Borax
1 cup baby oatmeal
2 ounces glycerine

This can be stirred in while the lye and milk mixture is cooling. It is not necessary to stir the whole time. Watch the temperature of 1.5 pounds of fat. Fat should also be at about 85 or 90 degrees. If you have to heat it to melt, make sure it has cooled again. Run the mixer on low for about 15 minutes, then turn off and let soap rest 5 minutes; run 5 minutes and rest 5 minutes. Repeat this and watch closely because soap will suddenly take consistency and must be poured into the mold. Pour when ready; smooth top surface and keep mold at even temperature for about 24 hours. Cloth can then be peeled off and bars can be cut with a serrated knife or scored and broken.

Aging: Age the soap for at least a month, unwrapped. It is better if it ages 2 or 3 months. Failures sometimes occur. Sometimes melting the soap on a very low heat and stirring it some more is all that is necessary to make it set.

A few suggestions: I always double the recipe so that I can use the whole can of lye and I can also buy 3 pound block of lard. I mix the lye and milk. Then I put in the block of lard and stir until it has melted. I powder regular oatmeal in the blender. I add it some baking soda and glycerine to the mixture. I stir about 5 or 10 minutes. I stick my thermometer in. It is usually about 120 degrees. I go about my business for an hour or so and then come back. When it is around 90 degrees I stir for 15 minutes, rest 5, stir 5 and so on. When the spoon can stand up in the middle of the bowl by itself I start spooning it in the molds.



Basic Goat Milk and Honey Soap

13 cups rendered fat (6.5 pounds)
1 small can red Devil lye
1/2 cup honey
4 cups goat milk
1 cup hot water

Into a large stainless steel or enamel container, dissolve the honey into the hot water. Add the 4 cups goat milk, stir to mix well and slowly add the lye to the milk/honey mixture. This will get very hot. Let it set until it cools down to 75 degrees. This could take an hour or more. When the lye mixture reaches 75 degrees, warm the lard to 85 degrees and pour in a slow steady stream into the lye/milk mixture. Stir constantly until the mixture reaches the consistency of honey. This will take 20 or 30 minutes.

When thick as honey pour into prepared molds. Allow to set for 24 to 48 hours. Un-mold and cut into bars. Air-dry the soap for 4-5 weeks to cure it.

Answer 2

I got 'turned on' to goat milk soap when I picked some up in Alaska 5 years ago. Then couldn't ever find it around here. I stumbled onto this site about a year ago, they have amazing stuff! I like the idea that it's a family-owned business, and every body's involved. Goat milk soap makes your skin feel sooooo soft. They've got many, many scents available and it's hard to know which you would like -- personally, I don't think soap should smell like food and I don't like real flowery/sweet scents so my favorites are Nautical and Sandalwood, out-doorsy things. Also, Honeysuckle is great because it's not REAL flowery. For Christmas I ordered many other scents for friends, and they all loved them. I also ordered the pet bar for a friend, which was a hit. And the foot/loofa/soap thing for me, as well as soap savers, which are great. LAS

Answer 3

I like how Betty's Homestead (on YouTube) adds her evaporated goats milk at lite trace (about half of the water). I did it this way on my second batch, but forgot to use distilled water and used my tap water with lime in it. I think this affected the lathering properties. Grrrrrr. Oh well, live and learn and keep on soaping.

Answer 4

Here is a GREAT tutorial:

http://www.oregontrailsoaps.com/tutorials.html

ALWAYS freeze your milk--or you get orange soap (it doesn't hurt anything--it's just butt-ugly!)