nursenancy Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Ok, so I just made cheese and have about a gallon of whey left over after making ricotta..I would like to make a CP soap and replace as much of the water with whey as possible. What do you think would be the best way to go about doing this? I plan to make a 4 lb batch to start.I was going to do a catille but decided to use my basic recipe so I can compare with the whey.I have some whey in the freezer right now in ice cube trays.I searched, really I did.thanks :smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMori Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 This may be a first. What type of cheese did you make? If the whey is too acidic, it will react with the NaOH and you will not get soap. If possible, take the pH of the whey to find out if/how acidic it is. Otherwise, just replace some or all of the liquid amount that you normally use. Personally, if I was making soap, I'd replace 1/2 the liquid amount and add the whey at trace. But that's just me. There are as many ways to make soap as there are soap makers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Hmmm... well I know it's been done because I've seen whey soap all over the internet. Unfortunately I don't have anything to test ph here right now. I was thinking it might be done the same way as say, a yogurt soap...I'll have to research more..:smiley2:Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMori Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 It probably is a bit like yogurt. The concern is whether the whey is acidic. Are you making an acid type cheese that results in a sour whey?Experiment. It may be safest to add it once you have at least a thin trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Whey isn't like yogurt. It's a more watery substance. Old fashioned real cottage cheese (not the creamy or low-fat junk in the dairy case of the grocery store) is curds and whey (the stuff little Miss Muffett was eating before she was scared away by the spider), for example. The only thing I could find on the pH of whey was from this siteWhey is the liquid portion of milk, which separates from the curd during cheesemaking. Sweet whey comes from the manufacture of Cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The pH of sweet whey is 6.0, which is higher than that of fresh acid whey.Since 6.0 is neutral and some whey is more acidic, ya might want to get some testing strips from the drugstore just to be sure. HTH PS I Googled the question "is ricotta acidic?" and found a reply here:http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/21602/question-regarding-ricotta-cheesecottage-cheese-sourdough-breadthat says that ricotta is fairly alkaline (3rd reply), if that's any help. Edited April 1, 2011 by Stella1952 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Whey isn't like yogurtYeah, I know that, I have a gallon of whey in my fridge and freezer, but I was thinking that the process might be similar to a yogurt or milk soap, maybe adding frozen whey as you might do with goat's milk. . I may just dissolve my lye in a smaller amount of H2O and then add the whey as the balance of liquid later. I'll probably do a small batch and see how it comes out. the cheese is just a basic hard cow's milk chhese made with mesophilic culture. I'm going to post a pic maybe tomorrow. I'll do it unscented, so I can see what smell comes through. I'll just experimant with it and let y'all know.As a comical side note, i had the whey in a gallon milk container in the fridge, marked whey in black sharpie, but it looks exactly like lemonade and one of my sons came in quick and took a big slug out of it. Boy was he pissed off! my husband actually likes the taste of it, it tastes just like buttermilk, which I hate but he loves. Edited April 1, 2011 by nursenancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I'll just experimant with it and let y'all know.Sounds like a great idea, nn! I love the idea of using the last bit of something leftover from another handmade product to make another unrelated product, unique. I so enjoyed the whey in the fridge story. Hope he didn't spew on the floor, but you DID clearly label it... :laugh2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 so, as an update, I had frozen my whey in silicone ice cube trays and made a batch of tea tree soap with the frozen whey as the liquid and the soap came out amazing! Great big rich bubbles and lather! I used my normal recipe. I'm on vacation in a couple of weeks and I will be making more cheese and soap with this method. I consider this a success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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