Seventy-two per cent
The oil content stamped on the block — the definition itself.
Fr.Latreille — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fr.Latreille — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fr.Latreille — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fr.Latreille — CC BY-SA 4.0
A soap factory working since 1894 in northern Marseille, among the last still producing Marseille soap by the traditional method, with a museum and production tours. Marseille soap has a defined specification: vegetable oil only — olive, palm or coconut — and soda, with no perfume, no colouring and no animal fat, and an oil content of not less than seventy-two per cent stamped on the block. Traditional production takes about two weeks through successive boiling stages in huge copper cauldrons followed by natural drying. The difficulty is that the name has no legal protection: any factory in the world may call its product Marseille soap. Only four traditional factories remain in the city, and they have sought geographical protection for the name for years without full success. The tour explains this and shows the actual production. Check the tour times before going.
The oil content stamped on the block — the definition itself.
Boiling in stages takes about two weeks.
Any factory in the world may use the label.
Northern Marseille, Saint-Louis
The traditional block is a green or beige cube stamped on all six faces with the factory's name and the figure 72% extra pur. The ingredients on the packaging should be very short: oil, soda, water and salt, no more. Avoid anything with perfume, colouring, preservatives or animal fat. The scented, coloured blocks sold in tourist markets are not Marseille soap in the traditional sense whatever is written on them.
Four remain carrying the trade association's stamp: Le Sérail, Fer à Cheval, La Corvette and the Savonnerie du Midi. Some open for visits and some do not. The Fer à Cheval works also has a museum and tours. If you want to buy genuine soap, buying at the factory is far safer than the old port markets.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.