Scored some Nablus and Olive/Laurel Soap Locally

[topofmurrayhill]

TOMH is saying all these soaps we are talking about are made using the fully boiled process, which includes boiling the soap for several hours or days, and occasionally adding salt or salt water to remove impurities and glycerin from the soap from the soap.

I am saying that Castile is made that way, which we can't easily replicate. So even if you use 100% olive oil, there's still an argument that it's not very authentic. When people say that adding any other oil besides OO results in a bastardized version of Castile, they overlook that. If you don't replicate the process by which it's made, you get a pretty different product.

Aleppo and Nablus soaps on the other hand appear to be hot process soaps. That's something crafters do, so theoretically those soaps are easier to replicate if we can figure out all the details.

I think the long cook times could have something to do with the caustics they use, or used. Not sure.

 

[TheStat]

I am saying that Castile is made that way, which we can't easily replicate. So even if you use 100% olive oil, there's still an argument that it's not very authentic. When people say that adding any other oil besides OO results in a bastardized version of Castile, they overlook that. If you don't replicate the process by which it's made, you get a pretty different product.

Aleppo and Nablus soaps on the other hand appear to be hot process soaps. That's something crafters do, so theoretically those soaps are easier to replicate if we can figure out all the details.

I think the long cook times could have something to do with the caustics they use, or used. Not sure.

Well I know Aleppo soap uses saltwater, but I'm not sure about Nablus. I think the longer cook times are due to how big the batches are and for Marseille soap they use sodium carbonate, which is significantly weaker than lye.

 

[SimpleSoaper]

Well I know Aleppo soap uses saltwater, but I'm not sure about Nablus. I think the longer cook times are due to how big the batches are and for Marseille soap they use sodium carbonate, which is significantly weaker than lye.

I can personally attest that Nablus soap does use salt. I did a lick test for each of the soaps in this thread and it was one of the saltier ones, if memory serves.

Extremely interesting about the sodium carbonate! I'll have to give that a try.

 

[SimpleSoaper]

hey, that's cool that you are seeing the colors. hopefully, the soap will mellow in time. do you know who makes the walmart EVOO? i believe kirkland makes the costco OO from what others have said here. i was planning on buying the kirkland EVOO from amazon.

Sorry, I have no idea who makes the WalMart EVOO. I just bought it because it was cheap.

which have you liked the best so far of the traditional soaps you've bought?

That's kind of hard to say. I keep rotating them, using a different soap every day or two. I really like them all, even the Papoutsanis and KMF. The only one I'm not using is the Aleppo, but that's because it is so hydrating that I'm saving it for winter. I have oily skin and it is a bit too hydrating for summertime use.

 

[TheStat]

I can personally attest that Nablus soap does use salt. I did a lick test for each of the soaps in this thread and it was one of the saltier ones, if memory serves.

Extremely interesting about the sodium carbonate! I'll have to give that a try.

Two downsides of sodium carbonate is that requires 6-8 hours of cooking with normal hp, but since all boiling recipes require a lot of time it doesn't matter in this case. But since it is weaker than lye you have to add a lot more sodium carbonate, and Im not sure exactly how you can figure out how much you put, but if you do put extra it doesn't really matter because you'll be washing away extra sodium carbonate with the salt.

 

[SimpleSoaper]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably start a new thread asking if anyone knows a ballpark amount of sodium carbonate to use with olive oil. Also, thanks for the links on the previous page. I had seen that one page about making Marseille's soap once before, but actually thought the mention of sodium carbonate was a mistake, when they meant to put sodium hyrdroxide. I had no idea sodium carbonate could be used as a form of lye. Also, I've always assumed that whenever one of these traditional olive oil soapmakers says "soda" they are meaning "caustic soda" or NaOH. Now I'm thinking they mean washing soda. I will definitely give this a try!

 

[TheStat]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably start a new thread asking if anyone knows a ballpark amount of sodium carbonate to use with olive oil. Also, thanks for the links on the previous page. I had seen that one page about making Marseille's soap once before, but actually thought the mention of sodium carbonate was a mistake, when they meant to put sodium hyrdroxide. I had no idea sodium carbonate could be used as a form of lye. Also, I've always assumed that whenever one of these traditional olive oil soapmakers says "soda" they are meaning "caustic soda" or NaOH. Now I'm thinking they mean washing soda. I will definitely give this a try!

Yeah I wonder if it will give any other properties to the soap made or not. Some sources also mention that Marseille soapmakers use only lye, a mix of sodium carbonate and lye, or just sodium carbonate these days so I'm not 100% on which is the correct way.