Patounis has been hand making olive oil soap by the traditional stamped method for over 100 years, and is one of the very few factories left in the world. You can visit and see the process, and also buy the products.
OLIVE OIL SOAP (taken from hellasworld)
A traditional, functioning, and accessible olive oil soap factory is on the Ionian island of Corfu. Just off the main square of the "new town" (five minutes walk from the old town), it has a showroom housing a laboratory, together with displays of soap which is available for purchase. Unfortunately, no factory tours are available as the small number of staff who work at the factory are too involved in the manufacturing process.
The main types of soaps are:
| • | "Green soap" made from crude (unprocessed) olive pomice oil. The latter is obtained by extraction from the ground flesh and pits of the olives after pressing. It contains olive chlorophyll; hence the green colour of the soap when "fresh". This green colour fades as the soap dries and matures. The "green soap" is used mainly for household chores (especially clothes). It also had a good reputation for its disinfecting and healing properties on skin infections, allergies, bed sores, and strained muscles. |
| • | "Asper green soap", which is a stronger formula of the "green soap". It has free alkali in its mass (increased pH). This makes it effective for clothes washing. |
| • | "White olive - palm kernel soap" , which is made from pure Virgin olive oil (lampante grade). Edible palm kernel oil is added during the manufacturing process. This soap is used as a gentle personal cleanser ( face and body). It lathers well. |
| • | "White olive oil soap" is as the white soap above, without the palm kernel oil. It has limited lathering ability and it is recommended that it be used with soft water. |
The factory is run by the affable Apostolos Patounis. It has been in the family for 150 years.
3 comments:
I would love to visit that factory! I han't been to that part of the world in a couple of decades...but I hate to fly these days.
my friends and i stumbled on this place just the other day and it turned out to be a magical half hour...
apostolos is indeed very affable and showed us around the premises and explained the processes without a trace of motive, other than generosity...
what a find! this place is a must see if you are visiting Corfu town - wonderful to see Apostolos using the same methods and in some cases the same implements as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Thank you Apostolos for one of the highlights of our week.
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