Which crock pot material on inside?

[acoustics]

I have searched this high and low on the internet and this forum and have not found an answer anywhere...maybe because it doesn't matter and you can use any of them.

My question is for HP and making liquid soap in a slow cooker, should the inside be made of ceramic, stoneware, or apparently there are some that are stainless steel (or so the charts say on Amazon)?

Does it matter which to get or will any slow cooker work? Also, I am looking to make organic soaps so I do not want any lead or any chemicals or BPA or anything.

Also, should I get a slow cooker with a digital thermometer reading to reach a certain degree or is just putting it on low and stirring until its ready the best way to go?

Thanks in advance any any other tips when buying supplies are welcome!

 

[shunt2011]

Mine is Ceramic or Stoneware..not sure which an they work just fine for HP and Liquid Soap. Stainless is good too though I guess I never saw one made of stinless.

 

[Feather]

Some brands of slow cookers and crock pots measure their volume by volume and some measure by weight of the food in the crock.

Hamilton Beach is one. A 3 quart slow cooker will only hold 2 and 1/4 to 2 and 1/2 quarts. When customer service was contacted they responded that it was a weight measurement and not a volume measurement. You can also see this if you check on a second crock, they don't sell a straight 3 quart crock, they sell a 2 and 1/2 - 3 quart crock as a replacement.

The older Rival Brand, has a 4 quart crock, and it holds a full 4 quarts by volume.

I don't know any of the other brands.

I would get a removable stainless steel slow cooker crock (lighter to lift) with temperature control on it (adjust the temperature). If I wanted a crock to hold 4 quarts, I'd get at least a 5 quart crock.

 

[acoustics]

Thanks for that info...that is very useful and good to know. I am probably going to go with a 6 quart cooker to be safe. Does it have to be made at a certain temperature? I do agree that temperature control would be great, but is it completely necessary? From videos I have seen online they just use a knob and cook until translucent. The temperature control cookers are twice the price and since I will only be using it for soap because of the lye in it I don't know if its totally worth it.

So ceramic or stoneware on the inside...doesn't matter it looks like. Thank you both.

 

[Feather]

Both my slow cookers have a knob, and 'low' and 'high'. I don't tend to throw money at things unless I *really* want them. Good luck to you. ~Feather

 

[whitetiger_0603]

I don't think the inside matters. I've used a crock since day one for hot process. Just monitor your temps carefully as each type of material will transfer heat differently.

 

[Feather]

Acoustics, I wanted to mention, garage sales and craigslist are good places to pick up used crock pots.
I don't know if you are in the US or not, but my craigslist has 6 crock pots up for sale in the last month. Just put in "crock pot" in the search box for your location of craigslist.

 

[acoustics]

Ahh didn't think to check craigslist before I ordered one. Prices are about half ($10-$20) than a new one, but there aren't very many 6 quarts available in my area so I'm glad I got one anyway for only $30.

Good to know that ceramic and stoneware can both be used but bring different temps. As I've seen here and other videos I plan to just set it on low while stirring for what seems like forever.

Thanks for the tips! Just waiting for my lye order to come in and I can get started.