Ash does not come from a fire. It comes from burning a body, which means the supply is the graveyard, and the building that does it is close to free.
Crematorium I costs six 
Brick and six 
Bronze Detail, and its technology is 
5 and 
5 behind the basic autopsy node you already own. One body returns five Ash and a 
Salt.
It also reads 1 and 
1 in runes, which is the cheapest way in the game to satisfy a mix that wants one of each.
Burning a body, and what falls out of it
Place a body in the crematorium, take the prompt, and eight seconds later there are five Ash and one Salt in the tray. The craft pays 1 and 2 on top.
The Cremator perk doubles it outright, to ten Ash and two Salt a body. The game describes it as the hottest job in town, and on a graveyard running at any pace it is the difference between a trickle and a supply.
Crematorium II raises the base to seven Ash and two Salt, and doubles the same way. It costs twelve Brick and eight 
Advanced Detail behind Body Places II at 50 and 50, so it is a late upgrade rather than an early one.
Three recipes, and one of them matters
Ink is the one. One Ash, one 
Water and one 
Melted Fat at the 
Writing Desk return four Ink, and Ink is what every prayer, story and techbook in the game is written with.
The other two are funeral goods. 
Urn with Ashes I and its second tier each take three Ash at the 
Formulation Bench, which is the graveyard turning its own dead into ratings.
Alchemy mixes are satisfied by runes rather than by ingredients, and Ash reads exactly one green and one blue. A mix asking for that pair is answered by a single Ash where other ingredients would take two or three, which is why 
Peat and Ash keep turning up as the cheapest answer to the same formula.
The Salt is not a consolation prize
Every cremation drops a Salt alongside the Ash, two with the Cremator perk, and Salt reads 1, 1 and 1. A single ingredient covering all three colors is rare and worth keeping for the mixes that ask for one of each.
It is also a cooking ingredient. Bowl of sauerkraut, baked meat, baked salmon and kraken steak each want one, so the crematorium quietly supplies the kitchen as well as the study table.
Both are stocked by the Apothecary once the town has one, and the Baker carries Salt as well, up to eighty at its third tier. So a crematorium is the way to stop buying them rather than the only way to have them.
Graveyard Keeper 2 Ash FAQ
How do you get Ash in Graveyard Keeper 2?
By cremating a body. Crematorium I returns five Ash and one Salt from each one over eight seconds, and the Cremator perk doubles that to ten and two. No other recipe makes it, though the Apothecary stocks twenty once the town has one.
How do you build a Crematorium?
Six Brick and six Bronze Detail, unlocked by Body Places I at five red and five green behind the basic autopsy node. It is one of the cheapest useful buildings in the game.
What is Ash used for?
Three recipes. Ink at the Writing Desk takes one alongside Water and Melted Fat, and both tiers of Urn with Ashes take three at the Formulation Bench. Ink is the one that matters, because every prayer and techbook is written with it.
Is Ash good for alchemy?
It reads one green and one blue, so a single Ash answers any mix asking for that pair where other ingredients would take two or three. Peat is the other cheap answer to the same formula.
What is the Salt for?
Alchemy and cooking. It reads one red, one green and one blue, which is rare in a single ingredient, and four dishes want one: bowl of sauerkraut, baked meat, baked salmon and kraken steak. The Apothecary and the Baker both stock it, so cremating is how you stop buying it.
Crafted At
Needed By
Produced By
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MaterialAcidBuilding MaterialAdvanced Detail
ToolAdvanced RodAlchemyAlbedo Tear
AlchemyAlchemic Powder (Blue Rune x2)
AlchemyAlchemic Powder (Blue Rune x3)
