soap nuts

Soap nut tree that grows in North India: Their fruits and seeds are slightly bigger than the South Indian Soap nuts.  The shells are a golden colour when harvested but become a darker red colour once dried.  The trees grow upto heights of 20 meters.  Flowering and fruiting occurs in the months of May to February.

Soap nut tree that grows in South India:  Their fruits and seeds are slightly smaller than the North Indian soap nuts.  The shell is of a red colour and become darker after they are harvested and dried.  The tree grows upto a height of 12 meters. Flowering and fruiting occurs between the months of October to January.

Basically there are two Varieties of soap nuts one is South Indian and another one is North Indian.

Varieties of Soap nuts

Soap nuts absorb moisture very easily. They become dark & sticky in a very short period of time if left exposed to air. Ideally the nuts should be packed in an airtight container or the plastic bag should be tied tight with a rope or rubber band 

 Storing Soapnuts

Just pop 6-8 shells into a cotton bag (provided) and place in your washing machine. The nuts can be used for 4-6 consecutive loads and then disposed either in the or normal bin. Because the soap nuts leave your laundry so soft there is no need to include softeners.

How to use

The species is widely grown in upper reaches of the Indo-Gangetic plains, Shivaliks and sub-Himalayan tracts in India at altitudes from 200m to 1500m. Soap nut, is a small leathery-skinned 12 centimeters (0.390.79 in) diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds. The tree can reach an height of 25 m and a girth of 3 to 5 m in nearly 70 years of its existence. The bark of Soap nut tree is shinning gray and fairly smooth when the plant is young. It is dark gray when the plant approaches maturity. The rachis is nearly 30 to 50 cm long and bears 5 to 10 pairs of leaflets. The fruit appears in July-August and ripens by November-December. These are solitary globose, round nuts 2 to 2.5 cm diameter, fleshy, saponaceous and yellowish brown in color. The seed is enclosed in a black, smooth and hard globose endocarp. The fruit is collected during winter months for seed and or sale in the market as soap nut.

Origin of Soap nuts

are an environmentally friendly, and the safest way of cleaning your laundry. They are increasingly popular in Europe and the US. They are available in both their  and in pure  direct from Indian harvesters to environmentally aware People. The nuts contain the active natural washing ingredient Similar to soap, when the shells of the soap nut come in contact with water the saponin is released and suds are produced - these are excellent for cleaning laundry and leaving it beautifully soft. They are especially good for colours because they dont contain any your colours will stay coloured for longer. The botanical name of soap nut is called as Sapindus Mukkrossi. The common name for the tree in the region of growth is Ritha and its also called doadni, doda and dodan in Indian dialects.

 Soap nuts

Soap nuts
are an environmentally friendly, and the safest way of cleaning your laundry.