The Versatility of Goats

So, let’s talk goats. I have a friend who raises goats, and she makes all kinds of goat cheeses, goat’s milk ice cream (it’s SO good!), soaps, and lotions. The heroine of my latest novel set in the 1790s Mississippi territory has a small herd of goats, so I decided to research the various by-products that can be produced from goats.

Obviously, milk is the first thing that comes to mind. We’re used to pasteurized milk these days, but back in the 18^th century, there were a lot fewer steps from milking to table. Milk the goat (or cow), strain the milk through a cheesecloth and drink. That was pretty much the entire process. They could keep milk cool in a crock in a root cellar or in a creek to make it last a bit longer, but if they weren’t going to drink it all before it spoiled, they made cheese, butter, and soap.

While goat’s milk cheese can be quite strong for some, I imagine our ancestors were quite used to strong cheese. Check out this cool video from The Townsend’s:  



I’d venture to say that a family with goats would make goat’s milk soap. I was surprised to find that making soap doesn’t require some magic ingredient or special containers. All you need is animal fat/grease—or vegetable/plant oil, water and ashes. And women in the past would have learned at an early age how to save their ashes and leach them to get lye. 

The primary ingredient is the potash or pearl ash from ashes. Pure potash can be achieved by leaching wood ashes. To do this under primitive conditions, take a small container with a small hole or holes punched through the bottom. Place a one-inch layer of gravel or sand in the bottom of the container, and a one-inch layer of sand on top of the gravel. The gravel and sand act as filters.

Fill the container with ashes from a cooled campfire. Place another container under the first container to catch the runoff and slowly pour about a gallon of water over the ashes allowing a brownish-gray water (the lye) to exit through the bottom into the second container.

Pour slowly. If the ashes start to “swim”, you are pouring the water too fast. During this process, if the lye coming out starts to lose its color, more ash can be added. Next, boil the lye water until more than half of the water has evaporated. The mixture may foam, and the resulting solution is potash or lye. Add lard, grease or animal fat to the boiling mixture and continue cooking for about 30 minutes.

When the desired consistency is reached, place the mixture into molds. The shape doesn’t matter: a wooden mold carved from a tree limb, a small coconut shell, seashells, anything will do. Let the mixture dry for about two days, then remove from the mold.

Can you think of a scent my 18th century characters would have added to their soap to give it a pleasing aroma? Wild honeysuckle is rampant in Mississippi and wild roses would be heavenly. In addition, there are over 50 different species of native orchids in Mississippi. I can imagine how wonderful that would smell. Do you enjoy homemade soaps? If so, what’s your favorite scent? What native flowers or other plants from your state would make a lovely scented soap?

These soaps on the left are made by my friends and they are lavender. Not only are they gorgeous, they smell divine!


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An Empire Built on Cheese (and a silent partner)

By Marilyn Turk

In 1874, James Lewis Kraft (J.L.) was born in Ontario, Canada, the second of eleven children in a Mennonite family. When he was eighteen years old, he took a job at Ferguson’s Grocery in Fort Erie, Ontario. An opportunity arose for him to invest in a cheese company in Buffalo, New York, and after moving to Buffalo, his partners sent him to Chicago on business. However, while in Chicago, his unscrupulous partners dissolved the company, leaving him with no company and no income.

With only $65 in his pocket, he bought a horse named Paddy and a wagon in order to carry out an idea he had to sell cheese door-to-door. The year was 1903, and grocers didn’t have refrigeration, so cheddar cheese was not carried in the stores since it would mold quickly. In addition, the cheese was only available in large wheels called “mammoths,” which made storage even more difficult. J.L. decided to go to the wholesale farmers’ market, buy a mammoth of cheese to put in his wagon, and starting early in the morning before the temperatures got too warm, he’d go up and down the city streets, selling pieces of the cheese he cut off.

The idea was a good one, but at first, J.L.’s sales didn’t take off the way he’d hoped. After a while of no success, J.L. had a conversation with Paddy. You see, J.L. was raised a devout Christian, and he realized he’d forgotten something. As he told the story later, he said, “Paddy, I think we need a partner in our business, and that partner is God. So let’s ask Him to join us.” Soon after J.L.’s new partner joined him, the business took off. By 1909, his business was so good, four of his brothers joined him and the company was named J.L. Kraft Bros. Co.

Because natural cheese continues to age and thus spoil or mold, J.L. experimented with ways to extend its shelf life. By shredding the cheddar and heating it, he was able to stop the aging process, and in 1916, he received a patent for pasteurized, processed cheese. His process cheese was not only nonperishable, it could be shaped into smaller sizes and wrapped in foil or put in glass jars.  By 1915, Kraft was putting process cheese in tin cans and exporting the product to other countries.

During World War I, the U.S. Government ordered more than six million pounds in small cans to feed soldiers overseas. The name “K-rations” was derived from these cans of Kraft cheese.

J.L. Kraft was known for being innovative, from the cheese he produced to added products like Velveeta and Parkay. In addition, he was one of the first companies to use advertising on a large-scale basis, a pioneer in branding, making the Kraft name a household word. 

In 1933, Kraft sponsored a radio show called the “Kraft Musical Review,” then later the “Kraft Music Hour.”

While in his seventies, Kraft jumped into the new medium of television, helping to create one of the first major television programs, “The Kraft Television Theatre,” which ran from 1947 to 1958.

  

J.L. Kraft never forgot His “silent” partner and contributed 25 percent of his income regularly to Christian causes. He once said, “The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.”

For 25 years, I was employed by Kraft Foods and was especially pleased to know its founder was a devout Christian. His high moral standards and work ethnic permeated the company for many years, and I’ll always remember one of his favorite expressions, “What we say we do, we do do.” I tried to make that motto part of my own work ethnic as well, and keep my word to my customers.

I bet you’ve had a Kraft product in your home at some time, if not cheese, then mayonnaise, dressings, maybe even marshmallows or caramels. Do you have a favorite? Leave me a comment, and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win one of my books of your choice!

Historical fiction flavored with suspense and romance

Multi-published author Marilyn Turk calls herself a “literary archaeologist,” because she loves to discover stories hidden in history. Her World War II novel, The Gilded Curse, won a Silver Scroll award. When readers asked what happened to the characters after the book, Marilyn wrote the sequel, Shadowed by a Spy. Her four-book Coastal Lights Legacy series—Rebel Light, Revealing Light, Redeeming Light, and Rekindled Light—feature Florida lighthouse settings. In addition, Marilyn’s novella, The Wrong Survivor, is in the Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides collection. Marilyn has  written a book of devotions called Lighthouse Devotions and also writes for the Daily Guideposts Devotions book. Website: http://pathwayheart.com.