"Cooking" or Heating Water on a Soapstone Stove?

[Mike592]

Hi everyone, we have a Hearthstone Heritage and I'm curious what is possible in using it for some very light cooking or at least boiling water during a power outage, or maybe just for a novelty now and then. Our kitchen range is electric, so it's useless during an outage. We have a small propane burner I bring into the house.

Just curious what can reasonably be accomplished with a soapstone top? More importantly, what types of gear (trivets? cast iron pots? other materials?) is best for soapstone? Will it mar or stain the soapstone so long as I don't spill anything? Any other experience?

Thanks.

 

[LocustBurner]

The Woodstock Ideal Steel stoves have three burners on the top.
The center one allows the trivet to be removed so it heats better than the 2 sides.
If you have a soapstone plate it should heat OK once the stove is up to speed.

 

[DougA]

There was a thread about this a few weeks ago and I said never to use a trivet as others suggested. It will lose too much of the heat.
I've done some cooking tests on my Hearthstone Equinox since that time and I can attest to the fact that soapstone is great for slow cooking but not great for much else. Yesterday I had the stove top temp well over 400 and a SS flat bottomed pasta pot full of water. The water was simmering without a top on but I cannot get it to a hard boil unless the top is on tight. That's great for a power outage unless you need to boil water prior to drinking.
For a longer power outage in the winter, you should buy a cheap butane burner for under $20. Propane is next to useless outside when it's real cold. My son was cooking some game outside on Sat. with a propane burner. He had stored the tank inside but I warned him that once it got cold, the burner would start to fizzle out. Yup, just as I said.

 

[Smoked]

If yours is rear vented the top blockoff is as hot as a steel stove. Like DougA says, it is hard to get a boil going on the stone and pots need to be right on the stone. Baked potatoes in foil and other slower cooking items are doable make sure they don't leak though

 

[Mike592]

Ours is vented out the top.

So is cast iron the best material for cooking implements?

 

[DougA]

Ours is vented out the top.

So is cast iron the best material for cooking implements?

Cast iron would make the process much slower to start. SS or even aluminum would work better on soapstone. Cast is great for maintaining super high temps but you won't get that hot with soapstone to make it work.
Never thought about the rear vent possibilities. That would be awesome but mine is top vented.

 

[Smoked]

What ever you use should be very clean and smooth. Maybe even hit it with some super fine sand paper to remove any burs.