[hrothgar]

Any informed opinions?

(I think that I'm going for soapstone because I cook with lots of acids, however, practical advice is always appreciated)

[hotShot]

Are you sure you are talking about granite and not about marble?

Soapstone is very soft you will have to be extra careful not to scratch it.
Marble is acid-soluble.
Granite is hard and therefore a good choice.

Soapstone is used in sculpture beginner classes because its easy to cut.

[Al_U_Card]

Granite looks great but is a bear to keep looking good. It scratches easily and is very fragile. Not for the "active" chef....

Dunno soapstone but composite (resin) is practical and looks pretty good.

[hrothgar]

hotShot, on Sep 12 2009, 09:05 PM, said:

Are you sure you are talking about granite and not about marble?

Soapstone is very soft you will have to be extra careful not to scratch it.
Marble is acid-soluble.
Granite is hard and therefore a good choice.

Soapstone is used in sculpture beginner classes because its easy to cut.

Soapstone is definitively soft for a rock, though there are different grades
The type they use for counters is much harder than than for sculpture

Still soft, especially compared to granite, however its easy to repair
I'm not sure the extent to which granite is acid soluble, but it does discolor badly

[hotShot]

I prefer stainless steel in the kitchen.
Granite is a mixture of (manily) 3 minerals that were melted together.
It can include colored minerals that can be removed with chemical e.g. acids.
Get some citric acid to descale coffee machines and ask for a fragment sample of the granite. Put that sample in a glass with the citric acid and check it its color has changed.
Some granite has FeS_2 (black I suppose) or other minerals in it that can discolor.

[akhare]

We have a golden yellow granite in the kitchen.

You will be hard pressed spot tamarind or lemon stains on that color and we haven't seen any discoloration in five years now.

Scratches shouldn't be a problem either unless you don't cutting boards and then again, it's pretty hard...

[y66]

I think the key to making this decision is to understand what turns you on and what will keep turning you on years from now. Soapstone is more maintenance and it's not available in large slabs like granite. If occasionally rubbing a little oil into something organic and appreciating the effect doesn't do anything for you, or you don't have fond memories of chem lab or, say, a magical summer where you and your friends discovered the meaning of life in a cottage somewhere in New England that just happened to have a lot of soapstone in it, or if you want a 10 foot counter and can't handle a seam or two, or you're not into understatement, or you just have to have those granite swirls and flecks and durability and shine, then maybe soapstone will not be right for you.

For more practical info, try poking around Susan Serra's blog or Ina Garten's site.

For pure fun, take a look at the counters at Christopher Peter's site.

[hrothgar]

y66, on Sep 16 2009, 03:54 PM, said:

I think the key to making this decision is to understand what turns you on and what will keep turning you on years from now. Soapstone is more maintenance and it's not available in large slabs like granite. If occasionally rubbing a little oil into something organic and appreciating the effect doesn't do anything for you, or you don't have fond memories of chem lab or, say, a magical summer where you and your friends discovered the meaning of life in a cottage somewhere in New England that just happened to have a lot of soapstone in it, or if you want a 10 foot counter and can't handle a seam or two, or you're not into understatement, or you just have to have those granite swirls and flecks and durability and shine, then maybe soapstone will not be right for you.

For more practical info, try poking around Susan Serra's blog or Ina Garten's site.

For pure fun, take a look at the counters at Christopher Peter's site.

Thanks!

[Phil]

Soapstone must be an east coast thing.

On the left coast its granite, tile or Corian. Travertine is too soft for countertops and marble is usually used in bathorooms AFAICT.

We had granite in our old house we sold in '05 which I loved. I never had any problems with stains.

The last two houses have been 4 x 4 tiles which are OK, but cleaning the grout is a chore.

[helene_t]

Over here nearly everyone has wood. Same in Denmark. Steel is for professional kitchens, but in the Netherlands many homes have steel. I may have come across granite once in a blue moon. Never heard of soapstone.

Anyone having glass? I hate glass cutting boards but maybe it would be ok for a kitchen countertop.

[y66]

There's a good 60+ page discussion of materials for counters and other kitchen surfaces in Lyn Peterson's "Real Life Kitchens", including an interesting, telling anecdote about soapstone and quite a few pictures of what must be one of her favorite projects that also features soapstone. Definitely worth checking out from your local library. Ms. Peterson has a refreshingly practical, down to earth way of looking at kitchen design problems.