Monday, September 30, 2013

Goats milk soap





Introduction

Nestled in the charming town of Sharon Springs, 200 miles north of New York City, is Beekman Estate. This slice of rich farmland is the home away from home for our vice president of healthy living, Dr. Brent Ridge.
Brent has about 75 Saanen Sable and Nubian goats on his farm, and he uses milk from these goats to make natural soaps. His soap, called Beekman 1802, is handmade, unscented, and chemical-free. The soap uses the maximum possible percentage of pure goat milk, and the milk's unique high butterfat content ensures that Beekman 1802 soap is one of the most moisturizing bars available, while its chemical free recipe makes it ideal for sensitive skin.
The farm at Beekman Mansion is a recently restored Georgian/Federal estate. The Beekman goats graze the land freely and drink the mineral water that once made Sharon Springs the most famous spa destination in the world.
Resources: Lye can be purchased at camdengrey.com. All other soap ingredients may found at Whole Foods. If you'd like to learn more about what Dr. Brent Ridge is doing on the farm or would like to purchase Beekman 1802 soap, visit beekman1802.com. Special thanks to Dr. Brent Ridge for giving some of his natural goat milk soap to our studio audience.

Materials

  • Protective mask and gloves
  • Stirring spoons or sticks
  • Candy thermometer
  • Electric hand blender
  • Spatula
  • Large bowl
  • Pitcher
  • Soap molds
  • Cookie racks
  • 12 ounces partially frozen goats' milk
  • 3 ounces lye
  • 4 1/4 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 ounces coconut oil
  • 12 ounces soy or vegetable shortening

Steps

  1. Step 1

    Wearing a protective mask and gloves, place milk into large bowl and slowly add lye. Stir until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. The lye will interact with the fat molecules in the milk and should bring the mixture to between 95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Step 2

    Melt the olive oil, coconut oil, and shortening together in one pot and bring to 115 degrees.
  3. Step 3

    Add the oil mixture to the milk and lye and use a hand blender to combine until the mixture demonstrates "tracing" (drips from the blender leave a noticeable path in the mixture). This will take 2 to 5 minutes.
  4. Step 4

    Using a spatula, fold the mixture to remove bubbles. Transfer to a pitcher and pour the mixture into soap molds.
  5. Step 5

    After 24 hours, turn the soaps out of the molds onto cookie racks. Allow to cure for 2 weeks.

7 comments:

  1. I really need to try this.
    Thanks for the prompt ~ and the share !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for the instructions.. This is something I have been wanting to do for ages.. Love that cat looking at me.. grin.. xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Want to make goat's milk soap, if I can just get Ruby Tuesday to cooperate! Enjoyed reading this!

    ReplyDelete
  4. They are really cute, I need to work on this sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for sharing the instructions. We are hoping to have goats by next spring and I definitely want to learn to make my own soap. I love using goat milk soap. I recently ran out of what I had and my six year old asked when I was getting more, she really likes it too! I am going to check out the Beekman's soap.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for Posting this blog for best health and beauty Solution product supplier in australia Goatsmilk Soap .but now this Blog completely satisfies me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. is the goat's milk measured or weighed?

    ReplyDelete