I’ve always loved the beauty of Horse Chestnut Trees and their fruit, Aesculus hippocastanum or conkers, those beautiful, shiny chestnut brown nuts that come encased in a spiteful, thick, leathery case, which splits open when they fall from the great height of the tree. I hasten to add they are not edible but there is something magical about their formation and as a child in my home country, ‘Conkers’ was a great school yard game, not without injuries I’m afraid and like many other games of the past, it is now banned in many schools.

Unlike Horse Chestnuts, Sweet Chestnuts, completely different family, are edible but they do not grow in our harsh zone three growing zone. These are the, ‘Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire’. The fruit looks very similar but the nutshell is softer with more feathery like ‘spikes’.

Horse Chestnut Trees are magnificent with large candle peppermint coloured flowers in spring. There are red flowered varieties also but they have proven less hardy in zone three. Horse Chestnut Trees and their smaller cousins the Buckeyes grow well in this climate but the downside is the mass of spiky chestnuts and casings that need tidying in the Fall.

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Sherpherdia Canadensis , Buffalo berry or Soopolallie has been another fascination for me. This shrub is common throughout most of B.C. When teaching, my students and I would talk about the uses that First Nations People had for different plants. Soopollalie’s red berries apparently were used to whip up a bitter frothy beverage.  So what does this have to do with Horse Chestnuts?

Both Soopollalie and Horse Chestnuts contain high levels of a saponin, a plant derived organic chemical that foams in water. It is toxic when consumed in large quantities. Interestingly soy beans also contain a saponin along with Soapwort and Mojave Yucca. Some saponins (there are different ones) however, are claimed to have health benefits. The roots of the Soapwort plant from the family Saponaria were historically used for soap, hence the word saponin.

When I read that making laundry detergent from Horse Chestnuts has become a ‘thing’ I thought I must try. There is a beautiful Horsechestnut Tree on my street and I have a smaller Buckeye in my garden. This is the time of year the conkers fall so I took my basket and collected.  After reading several articles on the process, I was able to start and finish the product in an hour. I’m not sure I would do this again but it was fun.

I cut each of about twenty five conkers into four, keeping their brown skins on. Then I placed in a a couple of cups of water and boiled for twenty five minutes. You can apparently strain the liquid at this point and use it but I wanted to extract as much saponin as I could. The chestnuts and liquid then went in the blender until well chopped. I then strained the liquid though a cheesecloth and added a few drops of lavender oil to the  finished creamy pale brown liquid.  This final product was then poured into a hand soap pump bottle ready for use.  The soap has a soapy feel but does not foam like a regular soap. It certainly froths up when given a good shake. I have also noticed my hands feel soft after using it.

This was a fun little experiment and if it interests you, you can learn more by watching or reading many articles on the internet. The following is just one.

Have fun!