When I was a child my job was to grind the dry crusts of bread into crumbs for this recipe or that. When the paper bag was full of crust, my mother would tighten the mincer onto the counter, and we’d cover the floor in breadcrumbs, turning and grinding. Excellent and useful tool, not only because it is almost entirely metal and likely will never break, not only for the economy of using up those crusts; but for people who suffer from food sensitivities, it is nearly impossible to find good organic, wheat-free breadcrumbs!

Of course, this is a mincer, for ground meat, and though the thought of the process does little for my former-vegetarian sensibilities, I must say it would be amazing to make my own sausages one day. For now I shall happily grind a hill of breadcrumbs.

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A glass rolling pin, stoppered with a cork on each end. Curious! It seems glass pins, ornate with etching and colour, were filled with cold water, to keep pastry chilled as it was rolled. How brilliant! A chilled bottle might do the same work, it’s true, but not with such elegance as some of the exquisite designs. Many of these beauties were hung up as ornaments in a kitchen, brought home by sailors, decorated with an image of their ship. I’m enchanted.

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Gorgeous object! I love the raw look of it. The scent of geranium and rose is just beautiful, subtle and sweet. The pale shade of it is delightful.

Though it appears that I cannot cut straight. My blocks are decidedly charming in shape. Cutting the soap is much like cutting cool butter or a mild cheese, and in fact I had to assure the children that they mustn’t sample it. All those bits, when cured, can be grated into the jar of homemade laundry powder.

Like my experiments in clay, I find the possibility of stamping patterns and text into soap quite entrancing. Pressing some of my antique silverware gave some beautiful shapes. I’d love to carve a stamp just for this purpose. Now I’ve wrapped the blocks in paper, and the soap needs to cure for a few weeks before we can use it. Joyful process! If you’d like to make your own soap, you can follow Sarah’s guide, available in the winter appleturnover quarterly. Sarah holds wonderful classes at Rowan Tree Studio in soapmaking and all kinds of handmade skills.

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