How to add milk in recipe

[spicyjem]

I know this has probably been talked about a million times, but I couldn't find a prior topic on it.

I am thinking of trying to use milk in my recipe to add creaminess, but could you tell me, "Do I substitute the water for milk when mixing with the lye?"

In other words, does it just become a milk/lye solution, replacing the amount of water with the same amount of milk? Or do I take the water portion, and split it in half while substituting the milk for the missing half?

I am just wondering how to factor in milk when I look at my SoapCalc recipe.

I appreciate any help you could offer in this matter! I'm anxious to start another batch and get the 4 week waiting process rolling again!

 

[Kidron]

Milk

I replace the water with milk, but since I also add some honey, I mix a little water with the hiney to make it easier to insert at trace.

 

[Finchen]

I have soaped with coconut milk as my liquid and would NOT repeat it, since the coconut milk turned orange after I have added the lye and it took ages to trace. The soap came out ugly and I had to rebatch it...

The next time I will use half water to mix the lye with and half milk added at trace...

 

[kelleyaynn]

You don't need to factor it in. I know, milk has fat in it, but it's just easier to ignore it. You could lower the superfatting % by 1 or so if you want (I did that to my 90% CO salt bar, made with coconut milk. Instead of superfatting to 20%, I went to 18%, just to account a bit for the fat from the coconut milk).

I use the same amount of milk as I do water. I weigh it out, put it in an ice cube tray, and freeze it. Then I mix the lye with the frozen milk cubes, and the heat generated will melt the milk cubes. It' can be hard to tell exactly when the lye is dissolved when you do it this way, so just stir, stir, stir, for several minutes, then use as your water/lye solution.

 

[TJ]

I have used milk twice now, well I used almond milk actually...
I replace the water with the milk when making my lye solution. I didn't freeze mine, and it turned a little bit brown colored with some curdled floaties, but it smoothed out and looked real nice after mixing with the oils and stick blending. (Yes, even almond milk will curdle!!! lol)

 

[Boudicea Farm]

I use straight milk that I freeze until slushy, and mix like mad, my soap comes out a nice light yellowy beige, I use fresh milk that I get from my goats.

 

[Hazel]

I do it the same way as Finchen. Half water to mix the lye in and then half milk. I've frozen milk before but I'm lazy. I hate standing around adding a little lye, stirring, adding a little more lye, stirring, etc.

As kelleyaynn said - you don't have to factor in the fat percentage of your milk. However, if you're using heavy cream then I would recommend figuring it into your SF.

David Fisher wrote about calculating fat content. It really helped me so I have a more accurate idea of what the SF will be when using cream. Here's the link if you're interested.

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/b...ke-Milk-Soap-With-Heavy-Whipping-Cream_15.htm

 

[JackiK]

I do it the same way as Finchen. Half water to mix the lye in and then half milk. I've frozen milk before but I'm lazy.[/url]

Here, here to laziness!!

I used the same weight of water as lye. Added balance as goats' milk at light trace. Turned pinkish at first, but evened out to a wonderfully creamy-looking bar. Can't wait to try it.

 

[adoptapitbull]

I substitute slushy goat's milk for my water. I know some people prefer to add it at trace, but I'd rather a soap with all milk instead of milk and water. I'm so proud of my girls' milk that I want to use all milk.

The slower you stir in the lye, the less color change you will get. My first ever soap it took me all of about 10-12 minutes to mix and I ended up with a very light, almost white bar. I was kinda proud of that! I've found that if I get lazy and mix faster, the orangey color fades a bit because I toss the soap with mold into the freezer to prevent gel. If the soap is colored, then I let it gel.

Happy soaping with milk!

 

[MizzBee]

I've always used coconut milk ( except for last night I used GM and well that's another story) and use 50/50. Add lye to 50% water and I always soap cool, then add the 50% coconut milk into the oils just before the lye, never had a problem with this method. I always SF at 10%.

 

[Relle]

Have a look at the label, as I found out that a lot of it is made up of water in the can, coconut milk that is.

 

[MizzBee]

Have a look at the label, as I found out that a lot of it is made up of water in the can, coconut milk that is.

Yeah what a rip off lol, I always put the can in the fridge first, then scoop out the milk on top and empty the rest out in the sink. I have been thinking about maybe trying the coconut cream.

 

[JackiK]

Have a look at the label, as I found out that a lot of it is made up of water in the can, coconut milk that is.

Yeah what a rip off lol, I always put the can in the fridge first, then scoop out the milk on top and empty the rest out in the sink. I have been thinking about maybe trying the coconut cream.

What a great idea!!

 

[spicyjem]

Wow, I LOVE all your responses! You guys are the best!

I'm having a hell of a time trying to find coconut milk or goats milk in my local store. Of course, I went to WinCo and not something smaller, but hey.....I was hoping to get lucky on my first shot!

Does it come in a can, a carton, or what? Perhaps I am just in the completely wrong aisle!

I can't wait to try a milk batch (50/50 with water) to see how it affects things.

 

[Hazel]

Have a look at the label, as I found out that a lot of it is made up of water in the can, coconut milk that is.

Yeah what a rip off lol, I always put the can in the fridge first, then scoop out the milk on top and empty the rest out in the sink. I have been thinking about maybe trying the coconut cream.

Why don't you scoop the milk out and then use the water for your lye instead of dumping it? I've been thinking of trying that but I haven't gotten around to it.

 

[adoptapitbull]

You can find goat's milk in Walmart ($3.16/quart here) or goat's milk in a can in the baking aisle. I'm sure that's condensed or evaporated or something.

 

[Hazel]

I've found canned coconut milk in the Asian food aisle at Walmart, Meijer's and groceries.

 

[MizzBee]

Have a look at the label, as I found out that a lot of it is made up of water in the can, coconut milk that is.

Yeah what a rip off lol, I always put the can in the fridge first, then scoop out the milk on top and empty the rest out in the sink. I have been thinking about maybe trying the coconut cream.

Why don't you scoop the milk out and then use the water for your lye instead of dumping it? I've been thinking of trying that but I haven't gotten around to it.

Yes that's a great idea, no wastage!

 

[Hazel]

Thanks MizzBee -

I thought of it a couple of months ago but haven't used coconut milk since I thought of it.

 

[Boudicea Farm]

You can sometimes find it on the baking aisle next to the evaporated milk or perhaps at a store that sells organic, like whole foods