🧼 Soap

Soap is a washing agent obtained by combining fats or oils with lye. During saponification the fats split into fatty acids and glycerol, and the acids together with the lye form the soap itself. According to FDA, no lye remains in properly made soap.

Olive oil is an age-old raw material for soap in the Mediterranean. Since 2024 the tradition of Nabulsi soap in Palestine has been on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is made from just three ingredients — olive oil, water and lye — after the olive harvest; each bar is stamped with a family mark and aged for a year, and such soap is given as a gift for weddings and birthdays.

In the same year, 2024, the craft of Aleppo ghar soap in Syria was also added to the UNESCO list. It is made in winter from local olive oil and laurel oil, which is rendered in autumn from the berries of wild laurel. The hot soap is poured onto the floor, cut into cubes, stamped with the maker's surname and dried in towers for 6–9 months.

Marseille soap is also associated with olive oil, but its name is not yet protected: producers have filed applications for a geographical indication with the French office INPI, and there is still no decision. According to the producers' draft specification, green Marseille soap uses olive pomace oil together with coconut oil, while white Marseille soap is made from coconut and palm oil.

Reading the wrapper. “Olive soap” or “Marseille soap” printed on a bar is no proof that it is made from olive oil, so read the ingredients. Traditional Nabulsi soap has a short list: olive oil, water and lye. Aleppo soap adds laurel oil to that.