Answer the following question given this paragraph: 

Saponification describes the alkaline hydrolysis reaction of an ester. The term saponification originally described the hydrolysis of long-chain esters called fatty acid esters to produce soap molecules, which are the salts of fatty acids. One such soap molecule is sodium stearate, formed from the hydrolysis of ethyl stearate.


Q: What is the alkaline hydrolysis reaction of an ester called?


A:
saponification