I have dairy goats, so yeah, I've got it coming out of my ears! I use pure, raw milk, no water added. I do the ice cube tray thing, and store the cubes in big, gallon ZipLoc bags until I need them. I've tried freezing a pre-measured amount, then slowly adding lye, but I was still getting dark butterscotch colored soap from the carmalized milk. The milk that was liquid had lots of time to cook while the solid mass under it was trying to melt, even when I was adding lye oh-so-slowly. I've found that the best way is to simply dump the entire amount of lye onto the cubes, and start stirring. It melts much faster, and doesn't give the milk as much time to cook. By the time it's melted, it's ready to pour into your pre-measured, combined and slightly cooled oils. I don't worry so much about temps - the cooler the oil the better, because the milk will continue to heat after the ice has melted, and you really want to keep this mixture as cool as possible, especially if you will be adding honey. When you get it into the mold, be sure to keep it cool - if possible, elevate it off of the surface in order to keep the air circulating around the mold. And yes, it really will stink, especially if it gets too warm. And another thing about gm is that it tends to take more eo/fo in order to have a good scent by the time they're cured. I'm not sure if it's the heat that burns it off, but whatever you do, just be sure to add a bit more. Also, be careful with color. GM will discolor - anything from the light blonde I get from the quick melt I get from ice cubes, to a dark, butterscotchy color. Blended with this, some colors get pretty murky... But anywho, when all is said and done, in a few weeks you will have a wonderful, light-blonde colored soap! April
