- SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR SOAPMAKING:
Safety Items
Rubber of Plastic Gloves - for working with lye
Safety Goggles - use when mixing or pouring soap
Equipment for Cooking Soap
Kitchen or Diet Scales - preferably digital in ounces and grams
Long Handled Wooden or Plastic Spoon - for stirring lye
Plastic (Only) Pitcher - it needs to be:
- "dishwasher safe" as lye temperatures will reach 2000F (930C)
- 2 quart (1.9 liter) capacity
- equipped with sturdy handle and pouring spout
- lid that snaps or screws on securely
- Sieve or Colander - when rendering fat or suet, you'll need to strain out debris
- Soap Pot - unchipped enamel or stainless steel (lye will corrode most other types) 8 qt or 7.6 liter capacity
- Stainless Steel Pots - smaller pots for making small batches. If the large pot is used, the soap might be scorched
- Two Kitchen Thermometers - they need to:
- have clips to hook onto the side of the pot
- be accurate within 1/2 of a degree
- read as low as 1000F (380C)
Equipment Needed to Complete Soapmaking
- Freezer Paper - after slicing soap, it cures on this paper and does not absorb
the color
- Large Clear Rectangular Plastic Container with Lid - this needs to hold at least 12 quarts (11.4 liters). Clear plastic will help you spot that has not mixed properly. This shape is ideal for every day bar soap to be cut in squares or rectangles.
Old Towels or Newspapers - insulates soap so it doesn't cool too quickly
Sharp Knife - cutting fats and finished bars of soap
- Soap Molds - use candy or candle molds, sardines cans, individual tarts pans, aluminum gelatin molds, small cake pans, any small semi-rigid container. Avoid straight sided, completely rigid molds as soap will need to be pried loose. Molds need to withstand high heat and have some inner detail to lend interest to finished soap.
Thin Cardboard - use for soap cutting templates
- Thin Wire - cutting finished bars of soap
Wooden or Stainless Steel Ladle - to transfer soap to their molds
Optional Equipment
- Blender - for making blender soap
- Bowl - to hold grated soap
- Grater - to make hand -milled soaps
- ...Return to Main Soapmaking Page
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