Castile soap
Castile soap is an olive oil-based hard soap made in a style similar to that originating in the Castile region of Spain.[1]
History
The origins of Castile soap go back to the
It is commonly believed that the
Early soapmakers in the Mediterranean area did not have easy access to laurel oil and therefore dropped it from their formulations, thereby creating an olive oil-based soap now known as Castile soap. Castile soap is so called because it was produced on a large scale in the territories of the Crown of Castile, from where it was exported to numerous places in Europe, mainly during the
In the 17th century, the soap caused controversy in
Importations of "Castile soap" through Antwerp appear in the London port books of 1567–1568,[5] though the Oxford English Dictionary has no references to "Castile soap" earlier than 1616. In his article "A short history of soap", John Hunt maintains that barilla (an impure form of sodium carbonate obtained from halophyte plant ashes that were high in sodium) was boiled with locally available olive oil, rather than tallow.[6]
Adding brine to the boiled liquor made the soap float to the surface, where the soap-boiler could skim it off, leaving the excess lye and impurities to settle out. While Aleppo soap tends to be green, this produced what was probably the first white hard soap, which hardened further as it aged, without losing its whiteness, forming jabón de Castilla.
Apothecaries knew the product by the Latin names of sapo hispaniensis (Spanish soap) or of sapo castilliensis (Castilian soap).[1]
See also
- Aleppo soap
- Marseille soap
- Nabulsi soap
- Popish soap, a derogatory name for the 17th-century soap monopoly in England
- Vegan soap
References
- ^ a b Soap (data) from Pharmaceutical-journal.com. Retrieved Oct 2014.
- ^ "Aleppo Soap, The True Natural Soap". Natural Cosmetic News. Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ISBN 0-8018-5954-9. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- OCLC 9944510.
- ^ Dietz, Brian (ed.). "The Port and Trade of Early Elizabethan London: documents". London Record Society. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ Hunt, John A. (December 1999). "A Short History of Soap". The Pharmaceutical Journal. 263 (7076): 985–989. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
Further reading
- Hunt, John A. (December 1999). "A Short History of Soap". The Pharmaceutical Journal. 263 (7076): 985–989. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05.
- Garzena, Patrizia & Tadiello, Marina (2004). Soap Naturally: ingredients, methods, and recipes for natural handmade soap; 1st ed. Programmer Publishing. ISBN 0-9756764-0-7.