- 300g vegetable Marseille soap
- 6 tablespoons of water
- A glass of Bergamo extra virgin olive oil
- Alfalfa from your grandparents' field - a bunch
- Dried mint and basil from your grandparents' garden, a handful
- 4 tablespoons of honey
- 3 tablespoons of polenta flour
- Honey essential oil
Recipe submitted to the "Saponi e buoi dei paesi tuoi" (Soaps and oxen from your own country) self-production contest. Why does it represent the proverb "Saponi e buoi dei paesi tuoi" (Soaps and oxen from your own country)? Because all the ingredients are typical of the Bergamo region, starting with polenta, a dish that accompanies us in both warm and cold weather, honey, a product that is abundant thanks to the differences that characterize my province... plains, hills, mountains. Extra virgin olive oil, also abundant in the areas of Sarnico, Scanzorosciate, etc... Alfalfa because it can be found in all the fields of the rural areas like those of Martinengo, where I grew up with my grandparents, among herbs like mint and basil... Potatoes are a very typical product of Martinengo... But it was a bit difficult for me to incorporate them into the soap...
Preparation
Reprocessing of vegetable Marseille soaps using a double boiler method.
I chopped the Marseille soaps and let the mixture soak with 6 tablespoons of water overnight.
I infused alfalfa, mint, honey, basil in extra virgin olive oil for 24 hours, then I filtered it.
I incorporated the flavored oil into the saucepan where I transferred the chopped soap... I heated it in a double boiler for an hour until the product became homogeneous.
At the end, I added the polenta flour.
The soap appears very fragrant, thanks also to the honey essential oil added at the end, the skin remains very soft, and the polenta flour provides a gentle exfoliation for skin renewal.
How to use
Use it like a regular soap.
