Rebatching and grating soap

[HerbalEarthling]

Hi guys and gals! I found a really neat recipe for a salt bar that uses old soap bits. I got through hand-grating 2 bars of soap and my weak little arms couldn't take any more. I have a food processor but every time I grate my handmade bars, it doesn't shred it fine enough as using a grater would. I had a salad shooter in my hand the other day at Goodwill but I took it up to the register to realize it didn't have the rechargable battery anymore so I left it there. I'm kinda kicking myself in the butt lol! So my questions are as follows.

1. Has anyone ever used a parmesan cheese grater to grate their soap?

2. If I just cut the soap into chunks, will I still be able to cut it? The soap in question just got done a 4 week cure so they are still fairly young.

Thanks!

 

[Crombie]

Salad Shooter

If you do very much rebatching, a salad shooter is worth every penny. Try posting a WANTED on Freecycle.org - that is how I got mine.

 

[coffeetime]

I've done it with a Parmesan cheese grater from starfrit ( like the ones they use in restaurants with a hand crank). And it's doable, but it really wears on your arms. I bought the shredder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer and I've been using that instead.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Sounds like a good investment. I really hurt my arms today grating those bars of soap lol! I will definitely try posting on freecycle. Thanks for the tips you guys!

 

[Saponista]

I use the grating attachment on my magi mix, I think lots of food processors come with one, you could look for a second hand one of those too.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I'm about to make some laundry soap this weekend, so I'm eagerly watching this, too. I thought of using the hand grater, but now I'm not so sure............

 

[Lion Of Judah]

i always grate my soap by hand . grew up in that culture of using graters so its easy for me . i don't got those other machines so i do not know what i am missing

 

[Dennis]

Some of the hand grater problem is too much pressure. Lighten up. Take your time. Whenever I grate soap I sit down in my favorite spot, turn on the tube, watch a movie, have a snack and a drink at the ready and grate away! It's not a race and less pressure won't wear out your arms. If you're in hobby status, slow down and make it fun. Resist the maximum efficiency work ethic. Save that for your work life. Grating a bar or two has taken as long as an hour as sometimes the opportunity to hold a cat presents itself. :grin: If none of those critters are around, it might not take longer than 20-40 minutes even with a break. Enjoy!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

A 'grate' idea! Fnar!

But seriously, I think I'll do it this way. 500grams of 100% CO soap makes a good amount of washing powder

 

[Lion Of Judah]

Some of the hand grater problem is too much pressure. Lighten up. Take your time. Whenever I grate soap I sit down in my favorite spot, turn on the tube, watch a movie, have a snack and a drink at the ready and grate away! It's not a race and less pressure won't wear out your arms. If you're in hobby status, slow down and make it fun. Resist the maximum efficiency work ethic. Save that for your work life. Grating a bar or two has taken as long as an hour as sometimes the opportunity to hold a cat presents itself. :grin: If none of those critters are around, it might not take longer than 20-40 minutes even with a break. Enjoy!

that is the funny thing if you think about it. given today's world situations , what everyone is trying to get back to is the very things they give up in the first place, longing to exchange smoke, smog, and carbon foot printing for trees ,clean water , and fresh air .... we forgot that the "journey" was just as important as the "destination " [ this is in no way a knock on anyone , you know your comfort zone and should work with it accordingly ]

 

[seven]

LOL Dennis!! god, i hate grating.. when i rebatch, i just cut the soap into lil pieces, throw some milk or cream on top, and be done with it.

 

[Susie]

I freeze my soap for an hour or so, then run it through the food processor grater. It is just so very much faster!

 

[Lin]

What difference does freezing make?

I want a salad shooter. My roommate has one of those hand crank attach to the counter salad things. It makes my Parmesean shreds too thick though, at least for my pesto cream sauce. I ended up having to take the stainless steel shaft Stick blender for soaping I was given to the sauce pan lol. And I have to still hand grate my shreds for the top of pasta. I realized I need the fine shred cone for that, but the ones on eBay are more expensive than the entire used salad shooters! Buying a new fine shred cone would be $12 with shipping, actually cheaper than eBay ones. Anyhow so I want a salad shooter and fine shred cone. The regular shred cone for soap, and the fine for cooking. And I'm sure I'd also use it for salads lol. I momentarily considered 2 salad shooters but it's finished soap, and I really don't need to add too much space taking stuff.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

I'm about to make some laundry soap this weekend, so I'm eagerly watching this, too. I thought of using the hand grater, but now I'm not so sure............

Oh hey reading back on this, realized I skipped over your comment the first time. When I make my laundry soap, I cut the soap into chunks that will fit in a food processor that I have specifically for making soap, and give it a whirl in there. The grated soap does a fine job melting when adding it to the hot water. I have found that my favorite laundry detergent comes from a store bought soap as opposed to my handmade soaps. Maybe it has something to do with the glycerin content?