The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Stuart Noble writes:
What use would a soap be that contained fat?

Very good for washing things with.
That's how (solid) soap is made (and has been since it was invented).

I thought originally it was oil saponified with alkali, with a more
liquid soap being produced with potassium, rather than sodium,
hydroxide. Maybe less than total saponification gives you an oilier
soap?


nah. It was sheep fat or lanolin and lye, mainly, lye being caustic
soda.

Castile soap, from olive oil, has been around for a few centuries

lye soap has been around longer...

The alkali is neither here nor there, but it seems animal fats were the
norm in Roman times. Odd that they didn't try olives.