Castile Soapmaking: The Smart Guide to Making Castile Soap, or How to Make Bar Soaps From Olive Oil With Less Trouble and Better Results

Smart Soap Making #4

by Anne L. Watson

SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS!For centuries, the name Castile has been associated with the highest quality in soap. But Castile -- made from olive oil, traditionally in factories -- has proven hard to translate to craft soapmaking. It has earned a reputation as difficult to make, slow to cure, and lacking in rich lather.Until now.Anne L. Watson, author of "Smart Soapmaking," continues her soapmaking revolution with the first practical book on making Castile soap bars at home. With the secrets revealed in this advanced guide, you'll be making lovely, quick-curing, lather-rich Castile quickly, safely, and reliably./////////////////////////////////////////////////Anne L. Watson is the first author to have introduced modern techniques of home soapmaking and lotionmaking to book readers. She has made soap under the company name Soap Tree, and before her retirement from professional life, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne and her husband, Aaron Shepard, live in Bellingham, Washington./////////////////////////////////////////////////CONTENTSGETTING STARTED(Facts and Myths About Castile)THE KEYS TO CASTILE(Moving It from Factory to Kitchen)WHAT DO I PUT INTO IT?(The Ingredients of Castile)WHAT DO I USE TO MAKE IT?(Gathering the Equipment You Need) Anne's Classic CastileSTEP-BY-STEP CASTILE SOAPMAKING(From Prep to Cleanup and Beyond)MORE RECIPES!(Different Castile Soaps You Can Try) Milk Herbal Oatmeal Cleansing Gardener's Lemon Poppy Seed Castor Coconut Castor Tropical CastileWHY? WHY? WHY?(Frequently Asked Questions)WHERE TO FIND MORE

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2015

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starter book for Castile soapmaking. I have Anne's Smart Soap Making, Milk Soap Making, and Cool Soap Making as well. Anne gives sound steps for making soap safely, I just wish she gave more description on the soap's characteristics. I have tried a number of the soaps, and still have a number of more soaps to try to find my personal favorites. She doesn't go into any kinds of artsy types of soaps, her recipes are more functional.

[Tracy Shephard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love handmade soap and this book show you how to make the finest of all of them.

Anne L. Watson shows us crafters how to make it and how it can be made simply.

With ingredients and a step by step plan it is achievable, and can be enjoyed by everyone.

I think this book will be a complete hit with soap makers and the invaluable information is just a gift in itself

[Magaret]

Unsatisfied

The book Had tangible information but i didn't see what I was after. Was hoping to see a recipe for liquid castille soap at least, or even any information to rely o for liquid castille.

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Castile Soapmaking - The Smart and Simple Guide to Making Lovely Castile Soap from Olive Oil Quickly, Safely, and Reliably
Author: Anne L Watson
Published: 2-1-2016
Publisher: Shepard Publications
Pages: 48
Genre: Crafts, Hobbies & Home
Sub Genre: Health, Mind & Body
ISBN: 9780938497660
ASIN: B013H08BAU
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
My Rating: 5 stars


.
From the book :

CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED - (Facts and Myths About Castile)

THE KEYS TO CASTILE - (Moving It from Factory to Kitchen)

WHAT DO I PUT INTO IT? - (The Ingredients of Castile)

WHAT DO I USE TO MAKE IT? - (Gathering the Equipment You Need)
Recipe: Anne's Classic Castile

STEP-BY-STEP CASTILE SOAPMAKING - (From Prep to Cleanup and Beyond)

MORE RECIPES! - (Different Castile Soaps You Can Try)
Recipe: Milk Castile; Recipe: Herbal Castile; Recipe: Oatmeal Castile; Recipe: Cleansing Castile; Recipe: Gardener's Lemon Poppy Seed Castile; Recipe: Castor Castile; Recipe: Coconut Castor Castile; Recipe: Tropical Castile

WHY? WHY? WHY? - (Frequently Asked Questions)

WHERE TO FIND MORE

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

Castile soap is a soap made from olive oil, sometimes with other plant fats mixed in. It takes its name from the Castile region of Spain, where it was made. But similar soap has been linked to other places where olive oil was plentiful, such as Crete, Nablus, Damascus, Aleppo, and Marseille.

There are romantic stories about the soap's origins -- stories involving queens, crusaders, and the Silk Road -- but little or no reliable information. Plant oil soaps, though, were probably developed in the Middle East in medieval times to meet religious objections to the use of animal fats. Castile soap itself is thought to have been inspired by Aleppo soap from Syria, but it omitted that soap's laurel berry oil, which was not easily available in Spain.

Unlike Marseille soap from France, Castile soap has never been legally regulated for content. But it was originally a solid soap made exclusively from olive oil. Hot processing was the only soapmaking method in earlier times -- in fact, soapmakers were called "soap boilers," and their patron saint, St. Florian, was shared with firefighters.

Going by histories and old pictures, soaps like Castile were produced in factories, using unsophisticated equipment and apparently no safety precautions at all. There seems to be no record of Castile soap being made at home. Compared with cottage soap, which was made with reclaimed kitchen grease, Castile was definitely a luxury item.

Castile soap is regarded by many as the pinnacle of the soapmaker's craft. It's also believed to be difficult to make, and especially difficult to make well by a small-scale soapmaker.

It's thought to need lengthy mixing. And to need lengthy aging, with some sources recommending a year or more. And to have poor lather, or even slimy lather.

These are all myths, based on the trouble that craft soapmakers have had in adapting what was originally a factory process. But making quality Castile soap on a small scale is not only possible, it's even not so difficult. It's just different.

So, now, let's explore the differences and see how to make perfect Castile soap -- traditional or with variations -- with little trouble at all.



If our interest lies in either learning soap making or wanting to learn some of Castile Soap's history recipes for some Castile Soaps then pick this book up and rush to purchase. It has simple to follow instructions and guides you step to step in preparing to make soap for the first time. Castile soap is for the more experiences soap maker as well as someone just starting out. I would recommend Castile Soapmaking to either. My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.


Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...


Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/casti...#


GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...


The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Cool Soapmaking - The Smart and Simple Guide to Low-Temp Tricks for Making Soap with Milk, Citrus, Cucumber, Pine Tar, Beer, Wine, and Other Special Ingredients
Author: Anne L Watson
Published: 2-1-2106
Publisher: Shepard Publications
Pages: 62
Genre: Crafts, Hobbies & Home
Sub Genre: Health, Mind & Body
ISBN: 9780938497677
ASIN: B016Z6AFDE
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley


.
What will you find in Cool Soapmaking:

CONTENTS
GETTING STARTED - (From High-Temp Soapmaking to Low)

WHAT DO I PUT INTO IT? - (The Ingredients of Cool Soapmaking)

WHAT DO I USE TO MAKE IT? - (Gathering the Equipment You Need)

PROJECT #1: MILK SOAPS - Recipe: Anne's Cool Milk Soap


COOL SOAPMAKING STEP-BY-STEP - (From Prep to Cleanup and Beyond)

PROJECT #2: CUCUMBER SOAPS

Recipe: Basic Cucumber Soap; Recipe: Cucumber Yogurt Soap; Recipe: Cucumber Green Clay Soap; Recipe: Cucumber Apricot Soap; Recipe: Cucumber Avocado Soap


Sidebar: Designing Cucumber Soaps

PROJECT #3: CITRUS SOAPS - Recipe: Basic Citrus Soap; Recipe: Orange Yogurt Soap; Recipe: Citrus Honey Soap; Recipe: Ruby Red Grapefruit Soap;


Sidebar: Designing Citrus Soaps

PROJECT #4: SOAPS WITH ACCELERANTS; Recipe: Sweet Bay Soap; Recipe: Pine Tar Soap


Sidebar: Designing Soaps with Accelerants

PROJECT #5: BEER and WINE SOAPS - Recipe: Basic Beer Soap; Recipe: Chocolate Ale Soap; Recipe: Red Wine Soap; Recipe: White Wine Soap; Recipe: Anne's Coconut Beer Soap


Sidebar: Designing Beer and Wine Soaps

WHY? WHY? WHY? - (Frequently Asked Questions)



You may look at Cool Soapmaking and think there is no way this book can be of an use when it comes to showing you how to make soap, but you would be wrong. Anne L Watson has packed Cool Soapmaking full of informative material as well as soap recipes for you to use. This is a book is for the novice and the experienced soap maker alike. I look forward to trying more recipes and seeing what other books Ms. Watson has available. Her style is so simple and easy to follow that I was comfortable in trying them. My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.



Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...


Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cool-...


Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...


The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Castile Soapmaking byAnne L. Watson is a fantastic book made by a genius of soapmaking! Castile soap is known for being hard to make for crafters, hard to make lather, and hard to cure. Here comes Anne Watson and castile soap to lather, cure, make...well that is not a problem at all! She walks the reader through equipment needed, step by step procedures, tips, recipes, and more. Then, if that isn't enough, she gives us readers castile soap with added ingredients recipes such as oatmeal, lemon poppy, and tropical! Oh yeah!!! How great is that? Love this book, another great book on soapmaking by the master soaper! I received this book for a honest review from NetGalley and it in no way effected my review or rating. Thanks NetGalley!!!

[Books In Brogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book if you want to advance your learning and variations on basic soap making techniques this is a good next step book. While it is not a long book there are a lot of different recipes and variations for the reader to try.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan

[Margaret Sholders · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite soap is Castile soap. I use it to wash my hands, face, bath soap and even to keep my leathers supple. I was curious on how to make this soap. I wish I had the patience to make this soap. I was amazed at the prints of soapmaking. They were awesome. I hope the readers will try make soap. Enjoy this soapmaking! I have this book for an honest review for NetGalley.

[Shirley Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be using this book to make castile soaps