Goats Milk Powder Help

[Candybee]

I recently got some goats milk powder from WSP to try out. For those of you who use it how much powder per lb of M&P base do you use? Or do you mix it with water first to reconstitute the milk then weigh it out?

So-- if you were using 3% would you measure out 3% powder or 3% reconstituted GM? Or do you use say 1 TBS and reconstitute that and add to your base.

Also-- is it really necessary to reconstitute the powder? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks for any help on this.

[Skiminims]

Candybee,

I feel your pain! I just got the WSP goats milk powder myself and sent a barrage of questions to PrairieAnnie.

Let me share with you what she told me

She suggested reconstituting the milk with some distilled water.

She also suggested starting with 2 or 3 tablespoons per pound and just add a little water until it's mixed, just making sure there's no lumps. She had an idea of taking the powder and the water and put it into a small container with a lid and shaking it until it's lump free. The reconstituted GM should be the consistancy of regular milk and can also be a little thicker if you wish. Just as long as there are no lumps.

I might have gotten my GM a little runny on my first try. So I'm modifying it a little bit and not adding as much water.

I hope that helps!

[prairieannie]

LOL, yep, that pretty much sums up my experience with it right there!

I would just like to add that I've never tried just doing the powder. I don't have a clue if the properties would be the same or different, but I'd like to hear what you determine if you decide to just try the powder. I have a feeling that it may need to have a little liquid of some sort added just to keep lumps at bay, but then again, maybe not. Let us know if you try it.

[Candybee]

Thank you both for your help! I already tried adding 1 TBS of GM powder with 1 TBS of tap water to 2 lbs base. I mixed the powder and water to a pasty consistency then added to my melted base. I did get one lump I removed.

I was trying to determine a starting point on how much to use. I have to make some more this week for this weekends craft show so I will follow your instructions. Thanks so much!

When I get a chance I am going to test using the powder only and adding it straight to my base. I want to see if it works the same and is possible to skip the reconstituting process. I already used powders like lemon peel powder or oatmeal flour so I know you can add powder to a base if you stir well to incorporate it.

If I use the GM powder only I will let you know my results.

Also-- I have the pumpkin flakes from WSP and I am dying to get a chance to try those out too. I make a pumpkin spice soap with Peaks pumpkin pie spice and it fabulous! I want to try adding the pumpkin flakes to it to give it texture and make it an exfoliating type soap.