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Bar Soap I

Bar Soap I: a lye is made from 2 kg soda and 2 kg slaked lime with 10 l boiling water, clarified, and boiled about 3 hours with 2 kg tallow. It can be marbled with laundry blue before being poured out and cut into bars.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 652 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Bar soap was the solid household soap that was cut into bars and used for laundry and cleaning. The lye is made here by "causticizing" soda with slaked lime - a common method before ready-made lye could be bought. Laundry blue balls (bluing for laundry) gave the characteristic marbled soap.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Make the lye

    Mix the lime and soda in a lye-proof vessel. Pour on the boiling water and stir until the soda has dissolved. Wear safety goggles and gloves - the mixture is strongly caustic.

  2. 2

    Let the lye clarify

    Let the mixture stand completely undisturbed until the lye is clear.

  3. 3

    Boil the soap

    Pour the clear lye off the sediment into a pot and boil it with the tallow for about 3 hours. Stir often once the mass begins to thicken.

  4. 4

    Pour out

    When the soap is suitably thick, pour it out at once into flat molds.

  5. 5

    Optional marbling

    If you want blue-streaked soap, dissolve laundry blue balls in a little warm water and add the color just before the soap is poured out. Stir only very lightly, so it becomes marbled.

  6. 6

    Cut up

    Cut the soap into bars once it has set.

Changes from the original

Measurements and units are kept (kg/liters). The method has been divided into numbered steps and modernized in language; a warning that the lye is strongly caustic has been added. Laundry blue balls can be replaced with other laundry bluing or omitted.

Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra19141949Modernisert
Til19141949Modernisert
1914 (korrekturlest, s. 652) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 786)~56% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til
10 l. vand vann 2 kg. soda 2 kg. læsket lesket kalk 2 kg. talg. Kalk og soda blandes, paaheldes på­helles det kokende vand, omrøres, vann, om­røres til sodaen er opløst; staar står derefter urørt; naar når luten er klar, heldes helles den fra og koker med talgen ca. 3 timer; rør ofte, naar ofte når massen begynder at begyn­ner å tykne. Heldes Helles straks op, naar op når den er passe tyk. tykk. Skjæres op, naar op når den er stivnet. Vil man ha sæpen blaastripet, såpen blå stripet, utrøres blaakuler blåkuler i litt varmt vand. vann. Farven haves i, has i like før sæpen såpen skal heldes helles op, men rør ganske let, saa lett, så den blir marmoreret. marmorert. Koker 1 time under stadig omrøren; helles op; skjæres op i firkantede stykker når den er kold. Vispes ut som grønnsåpe.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you make the lye for the bar soap?
Mix 2 kg soda and 2 kg slaked lime, pour over 10 liters of boiling water, and stir until the soda has dissolved. Let the mixture stand undisturbed until the lye is clear, then pour it off (without the sediment) before boiling it with the tallow.
How long should the soap boil?
The lye is boiled with 2 kg tallow for about 3 hours. Stir often once the mass begins to thicken, and pour it out at once when it is suitably thick. It is cut into bars once it has set.
How do you get blue-streaked (marbled) soap?
Dissolve laundry blue balls in a little warm water and add the color just before the soap is to be poured out. Stir only very lightly, so it becomes marbled rather than evenly colored.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schonberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 652, in the section on slaughtering and soap- and household-keeping.

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