Powdered GM

[JanetsCandles]

I can't track down decent goat's milk that doesn't have the funky additives in the store, so I've found some powdered GM from a local place. I'm wanting to soap it. My question is should I work it in at trace? Hydrating it first or leaving it dry? I'm afraid that adding it to the lye water would scorch it.

Also, does anyone else use powdered? Should I expect it to overheat like the other GM soaps seem to? Need to figure out if I'm shoving it into the fridge or not.

[TallTayl]

Meyerburg GM powder is what I have available. It works great.

I think I have posted my powdered GM method before, but here's a quick overview... I always reconstitute the milk powder in some reserved water. I find it makes smoother soap with less chance for scorched speckles.

I mix my reconstituted milk with most of my liquid oil and stick blend the daylights out of it to make sure there are no leftover lumps. I usually add all of my additives including fragrance before any sign of trace. This way I'm not caught trying to mix things in hurredly after the fact. When I've waited to add milks and such at trace years ago I sould sometimes end up with lumps of incompletely mixed milk that saponified as little white chunks in the soap. Not pretty.

Keep your working temps on the cool side since the milk will most likely heat the batch when it hits the mold just through the chemical reaction with the milk sugars.

HTH.

[Kitn]

I add the GM powder to the lye water, mix it with the SB and then slowly add the lye.

[wheeler]

The easiest way to work with powdered gm imho is to add it to the oils and stick blend until all lumps have incorporated, then add your lye which has cooled down to room temp. Continue as normal, add whatever you wish, I recommend not to gel cause it can overheat, to avoid that you may need to put it in the refridgerator, depending where you live and your climate

[Candybee]

Don't you have the Meyerburg canned goat milk at your local grocers? This is what I used and it makes fabulous soap. I reserve half my water and sub the gm. I chill it first then add to my oils and stick blend it before adding my lye water. Have not had any problems with it overheating or doing it this way.

[jeanie353]

Don't you have the Meyerburg canned goat milk at your local grocers? This is what I used and it makes fabulous soap. I reserve half my water and sub the gm. I chill it first then add to my oils and stick blend it before adding my lye water. Have not had any problems with it overheating or doing it this way.

I'm out or would look myself. Is that the blue and white can one?

[Candybee]

I'm out or would look myself. Is that the blue and white can one?

Here's a link to Meyenburg goat milk products: http://meyenberg.com/index.php?page=evaporated-milk. The can in the center of is the evaporated goat milk that I find in almost every grocery store. I buy mostly from Walmart cause its cheaper there. Halving your liquids using half water and half Meyenburg canned gm comes out the same as reconstituting would as the canned is concentrated. Hope that makes sense.

[JanetsCandles]

Here's a link to Meyenburg goat milk products: http://meyenberg.com/index.php?page=evaporated-milk. The can in the center of is the evaporated goat milk that I find in almost every grocery store. I buy mostly from Walmart cause its cheaper there. Halving your liquids using half water and half Meyenburg canned gm comes out the same as reconstituting would as the canned is concentrated. Hope that makes sense.

They've had some major problems keeping it in stock. We have a couple of families in the immediate area that have been buying it up. Weird, but that was what I was told at 3 different stores that normally carry it. And if they can't keep it in stock, and won't special order it for me directly, I've got to look for plan B.

All the info has been excellent. I'll be able to at least start with it this way. Thanks guys!

[jeanie353]

Here's a link to Meyenburg goat milk products: http://meyenberg.com/index.php?page=evaporated-milk. The can in the center of is the evaporated goat milk that I find in almost every grocery store. I buy mostly from Walmart cause its cheaper there. Halving your liquids using half water and half Meyenburg canned gm comes out the same as reconstituting would as the canned is concentrated. Hope that makes sense.

That's what I had. I do get it at Walmart. Where I got blue/white on the label from is beyond me.

[JanetsCandles]

I finally tracked down some of the evaporated. Had to go across town to get it, but hey. I'll be making 2 batches, one with the powdered, one with the evaporated. Just to see how well they work individually, and which way my preference is going to lay. I'll be posting results too

[Candybee]

Today is the first time I found a quart of fresh goat milk by Meyenburg. It was in the health food isle at my grocers. Gonna soap some today! Chilling it now....

[MoonShadow]

Today is the first time I found a quart of fresh goat milk by Meyenburg. It was in the health food isle at my grocers. Gonna soap some today! Chilling it now....

Last week I noticed Publix is now stocking fresh goat milk by Meyenburg in addition to the canned!

[IwantItgreen]

I've used the evaporated GM, the powdered GM and fresh frozen GM in soap. I was not able to tell the difference.

For the evaporated I added the concentrated milk to my oils and used 1/2 water for the lye.

For the powdered I use full water for the lye and stick-blend the powder into the oils.

For fresh frozen I add the lye to the frozen GM.

[Candybee]

So I soaped with the fresh goat milk yesterday and gotta say its the best. Now I only want to use fresh.

I did a price check and a quart of the fresh is 3.99 at 32 oz and the canned is 3.75 for 12 oz. Looks like the fresh is even cheaper too! Yeah!!!

[TallTayl]

So I soaped with the fresh goat milk yesterday and gotta say its the best. Now I only want to use fresh.

I did a price check and a quart of the fresh is 3.99 at 32 oz and the canned is 3.75 for 12 oz. Looks like the fresh is even cheaper too! Yeah!!!

Hooray! It's a dream, isn't it? Just wait until you use it the first time.

Next up, locating a local dairy farmer and trading soap for milk. Check the Goat Barns at your nearby County Fairs (I kid you not). If you're super nice and respectful, and have a container prepared, sometimes they will help a soaper out. At locales such as fairs they're not allowed to use the milk that is collected twice a day, so they "pump and dump". What a shame to waste that milk!

I've partnered with several dairy goat farms to produce products for them using their own milk just by befriending them at a fair. (It helps if you can talk intelligently about goats - their favored breed(s) in particular). I fill my freezers in the fall for the cost of gas and a few logs of soap. (Ooops maybe I shouldn't share that secret If you're a knitter, you can sometimes get raw wool from the nice sheep folks too.) Explore your options now that you're a GM soap pro.

[Candybee]

Haha! Not a pro yet but working on it. I did do a web search as I know there are lots of goat farms in the valley here. I found one less than a mile from the weekly farmers market I do. Gonna check them out!