The origin of the word "soap"

After reading the answers from so many friends upstairs, I don't want to answer any more. Without a good cover-up, I couldn't adopt below, which affected my adoption rate in vain. But after reading it for a long time, I really didn't see a friend who knows botany answer, so I'd better join in the fun:

First of all, in ancient China, soap and pancreas were not the same thing! Soap always refers to a plant, and the pancreas is indeed a semi-synthetic washing product. Only in modern times, after the vegetable soap gradually faded out, the pancreas gradually replaced the vegetable soap and gradually confused with the names of vegetable soap and chemical soap.

Let's start with Gleditsia sinensis and soap:

Gleditsia sinensis-also known as Gleditsia sinensis, Gleditsia sinensis, Gleditsia sinensis, Gleditsia sinensis, Equisetum, Gleditsia sinensis, Gleditsia sinensis belongs to Leguminosae/Pistaceae/Gleditsia sinensis.

Soap-also called Gleditsia sinensis. Gleditsia sinensis Gleditsia sinensis Gleditsia sinensis

The biggest difference is that Gleditsia sinensis has thorns and Gleditsia sinensis has no thorns. However, both fruits, namely Gleditsia sinensis, contain saponin, which is a natural plant surfactant with foaming, decontamination, emulsification and other functions. Compared with real chemical soap, Gleditsia sinensis is resistant to hard water and does not contain alkalinity.

By the way, what is the pancreas? In the Tang dynasty, pig pancreas was ground into paste, mixed with bean powder and spices, and dried in the sun, which means bathing beans. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the folk improved bath beans, which were made by mixing and grinding pig pancreas, sugar, natural sodium carbonate, lard and spices in proportion, heating to 40℃ and pressing to form, and called "pancreas".

The lard in this pancreas is partially decomposed into fatty acids by lipase, and then saponified by sodium carbonate into real fatty acid soap (the main component of modern chemical soap). However, this decomposition and saponification are incomplete, so although the product looks like modern soap, its composition is a semi-saponified mixture containing enzymes, which is different from modern soap and soap. But it is very similar to the handmade soap that has been sold well online in the last two years! Handmade soap is actually semi-saponified soap.

As for the later generations, among the three names of pancreas, soap and Gleditsia sinensis, you have me and I have you, which is what needs to be carefully distinguished.