How to make soap 700 years ago easily at home

by pxhere

The soap used to wash hands and bodies has a long history, and if you go back, the production method is written on a clay plate of Sumerian civilization around 2200 BC. Site to study the medieval customs and culture Medievalists.net is, exposes the 'soap How to make', which was written in about 700 years ago, the medieval English literature.

How to make medieval soap-Medievalists.net
https://www.medievalists.net/2019/09/how-to-make-medieval-soap/

According to Mediavalists.net, the soap recipe was recorded in the Trinity Encyclopedia written in Central English in the late 14th century. The necessary materials are as follows.
・ Clean through oak tree ash and sieve
・ Animal fat such as sheep fat is dissolved in advance by heating.
・Quicklime
·salt
·flour
·water
・ Small pan
・ Big pot, capacity 3 gallons (about 11 liters) to 4 gallons (about 15 liters)
・ Strong stir bar

The following recipe was written in the encyclopedia.
1: First, put 'Okinoki no Ash' in the pan, pour 2 gallons (about 7.5 liters) of hot water, cover it and leave it for a day to make ash juice.
2: Add 2 ounces of quick lime and 2 gallons of hot water to the lye, stir and let it sleep for another day.
3: Take about 3 quarts (about 2.8 liters) of the resulting lye and place it in a small pan.
4: Put the melted sheep fat about 0.5 pounds (approx. 230g), and mix well with a stir bar while heating a small pan. When the sheep's fat is completely dissolved in the lye, add 0.5 ounces of salt and mix well.
5: Mix starch with 0.25 ounces (approx. 7 g) of cold lye and filter through hemp cloth to separate starch. Place the starch in a small pot and mix well until the bottom of the pot is no longer visible.
6: Remove the pot from the fire, put it in a pre-moistened mold, place it on a flat table, and dry it to complete the soap.

In addition, the YouTube channel “ Cooking with Dr. Chill ”, which publishes movies about cooking, has released a movie about the process of actually making soap from wood ash. Although the recipe is not faithful to the above recipe, the production process is almost the same, using wood ash and animal fat.

how to make soap from wood ashes (lye water and tallow / lard)-YouTube


Large amount of wood ash left after barbecue

The following is a fine ash that uses a window screen instead of a sieve.

Add a large amount of water to this ash, stir well and let it stand.

Dissolve lard of animal fat beforehand.

Add the lye and salt to the melted lard ...

Slowly mix the pan over low heat.

Viscosity rises and becomes a paste.

Put a paste of soap into the mold.

Most of the literature written in the Middle Ages is written roughly on the premise that the reader has basic knowledge, so it seems very rare that it is written in detail like the above recipe . According to Medievalists.net, the Trinity Encyclopedia also contains dozens of recipes, including how to tan leather, how to make pigments, how to make and dye clothes, and people who lived in the Middle Ages It is said that it has become a valuable document for knowing the details of life.