Manufacturing a Marseille soap
The chemical formula involved in the Marseille soap process is called saponification and universally common to all soaps :
Fats + caustic soda = soap + glycerin
The particularity of a Marseille soap is found in its manufacturing process that involves cooking in a cauldron at 100 or 110 Celcius degrees (about 220 F) and several washings of the dough with salt water. It is an ancient method of saponification, long and delicate, but guarantees a final product of the highest quality.
It takes a minimum of 20 days to make a raw cube of Marseille extra pure.
L'empatâge or saponification
It is a slow chemical reaction to begin. In a large cauldron, caustic soda and fats are mixed and heated. Fats are olive oil and/or palm-copra oils. Some soap from a previous cooking is also added, as well as sea salt.
The release
This is done in the same cauldron. A saline wash removes leftovers of soda. By stopping the boiling, the caustic soda goes down and the soap rises to the surface. This is called epinage.
Cooking
For about 10 days, the Marseille soap is slowly and carefully cooked. Modern technology can make this step much faster but compliance with the traditional process of Marseilles command such rigor. In just a few hours, the soap would not have time to form well enough and we would get a rancid product. Ten days of cooking is what makes a Marseille soap perfectly usable for several decades after it is being manufactured ! During this stage, step 2 (epinage) is proceeded several times.
Cooking is complete when the lye does not deteriorate further. The master soap maker then taste the soap (he really taste it!), check the appearance of the dough and verify its elasticity. An art and a knowledge that can not be learned in books ...
The liquidation
One last time, caustic soda is introduced and the mixture is boiled. A final epinage is made before the pot is washed with clear water, causing the impurities to go the bottom. The soap, then clean and pure, swim to the surface and it is settle down for 2 days. The master soap maker finally proceeded to a final check of the viscosity.
Filling up the basins
The basins are 40 cm depth (almost 16 Inches) and capable of receiving the soap from the cauldrons. The basins are quickly filled up to prevent pipes from clogging. The soap is spread with a long spatula to get a smooth surface. Being as hot as 110 Celsius degrees it must cool down for 2 days. When the soap is dryer, lines are drawn and it is divided into blocks of 35 kg (about 70 pounds). These blocks will then takes the direction of the cutting machine. The Marseille cube soap is born!
Drying and marking
Born but not still able to walk around. It must dry for about 10 days in a room naturally ventilated with outside air. From time to time Marseille soaps will be turned over to ensure that the six sides are drying well.
Finally, cube soaps are positioned in the Tulip. One soap after the other, this mold handled manually, engrave the famous inscriptions found on a raw cube manufactured in the respect of the genuine Marseille process.
Scented Marseille soaps
A Marseille soap is a cooked soap, so it is difficult to perfume. The trick is to use raw soap, green or white, and grinds it. We then obtain soap flakes that are passed through the blender which incorporate the fragrances. A press homogenize the mixing and a extruder forms soap bats. By cutting and molding the soap bats, any forms desired can be obtained. Naturally, scented Marseille soaps do contains glycerin.
