Freshening is the proper dairy term for a goat coming into milk after kidding — and it felt like exactly the right word for this month’s newsletter, because everything about our goat’s milk soap is having a fresh start right now.
We’ve been making our goat’s milk soap since around 2015, and over the years it’s become one of the most loved things we make at The Lint Mill. All six varieties are made with fresh milk from our herd of Royal Golden Guernsey goats, milked by Colin every morning. Until now, that milk has come from our two wonderful older nannies, Strega and Astrid — but after years of loyal service, it was time for them to retire, and for a new generation to take over.
That meant a short hiatus while we waited for our two young nannies, Lulu (Whinpot Kahlua) and Nora (Zingibar Nova), to have their kids — and then, once they had, for their babies to get the best possible start before we took any milk at all. Both girls had twins: Lulu a boy and a girl, Esme and Eugene, and Nora two boys, Edgar and Edwin. Edgar has stayed entire and has gone off to be a billy goat, with Eugene and Edwin, (now castrated), heading north together to a lovely new home in Caithness, with a couple who are new keepers — and, we’re reliably informed, a room with a view out over the North Sea. We couldn’t have hoped for a better send-off for them.
With Lulu and Nora now milking, our soap-making is properly back underway — and both girls have taken to the milking stand beautifully for youngsters so new to it. Lulu, in particular, has been a real surprise. She was always a flighty, nervous sort as a young goat, but motherhood seems to have brought out a completely different side of her — she’s now our calmest, most patient milker by far. In fact, she’ll be the goat our smallholding course participants get to try their hand at milking, since she now takes it all so wonderfully in her stride.
Soap-making, though, hasn’t been entirely without its hiccups. Our soap has always come in boxes of six, but our supplier has stopped making that exact size, and despite a determined search, we haven’t found a replacement. So we’ve had a rethink. The six original varieties — Sensitive, Honey & Oatmeal, Golden Calendula, the Gardener’s Scrub Bar, the Cook’s Companion Bar, and the Lavender and Rose Geranium Bar — are staying exactly as they are, but we’re now pairing them into three new gift boxes: one called Working Hands, and two more we’re still putting the finishing touches to names for (watch this space!). By the end of the month you will be able to take a look at the new packaging on our website — we think it’s rather lovely, whether for a treat for yourself or a gift for someone else.
In keeping with our eco policy, we’re also offering completely unpackaged “naked” bars, wrapped simply in tissue, so you can mix and match any combination of varieties you like, still with a discount on six bars.
As ever, each batch is handmade in our kitchen — about as cottage-industry as it gets — using the traditional cold process method, which you can read more about on our website, along with why goat’s milk is so good for the skin. Once made, the soap needs eight weeks to cure, so the batch we’ve just made in early September will be ready to send out from the beginning of November.
Do have a browse of the new packaging at the end of the month and get your orders in in good time — with the festive season not so very far away, these little pairing boxes make rather good stocking fillers.
