I bought it in a Turkish store while trying to find baking soda. I’m not sure that’s what it is, or if I can use it for baking. I know that I can use it for cleaning, about the same way as baking soda, but I don’t want to screw up food trying to use it.
The translation I got doing wiki and a word search didn’t help much, either.
Anyone know?
Sodium carbonate (washing soda). Natron is sodium. No use to bake with - sodium bicarbonate (formally “sodium hydrogen carbonate”) has an excess of CO[sub]2[/sub] which will make things rise.
I once wrote to the paper 'cos I’d read in there of this marvellous homeopathic remedy called natrum muriaticum. “Muriatic acid” is an antique name for hydrochloric acid, so the wonder-drug was… salt. :rolleyes:
Dammit! I found this in the spice section, too. So, if I’m trying to use it for cookies, it won’t work and it will taste nasty?
I’d guess so. But in case my translation is not spot-on, a small nibble from a test batch wouldn’t hurt you; sodium carbonate can be used as a food additive, for instance to make ramen noodles take up water more easily. There aren’t too many simple tests I can think of to tell the two apart; both would fizz when dissolved and doused in lemon juice, for instance.
If you happen to have a bit of pH paper around, it could probably help you. A quick test of my saturated solutions of both reveal that the pH should be roughly 10 and 14 for sodium bicarb and carbonate, respectively. The carbonate is much more basic than the bicarbonate.
Better living through chemistry…or something.
Well, yes, and I suppose you could titrate a solution if you happened to have a pipette, a burette and some decimolar sulphuric acid handy, but it’s amazing how often these simple pieces of equipment are missing from the suburban kitchen. 
So if “karbonat” is carbonate, what’s bicarbonate?
And I love antique names for chemicals (even if I can’t remember them most of the time), but boy is that scummy. Not surprising from a homeopath, but scummy all the same.
What was it the “remedy” for? Low blood pressure? Soft arteries? :dubious:
Considering it was a homeopathic “remedy”, it was probably something like a milligram of salt in a kilogram of water, to give a solution of 17 micromolar or, if you want, 1 ppm. (Personally, I think in terms of molarities.)
Well, she is a Doper. She might have them, you never know.
And here I was thinking Heloise was going to mummify someone. That would have been cool.
Not sure. As Wikipedia says:
so I’d be looking for something similar.
Yup. If they’re going to prescribe table salt as a remedy (and why not?), what need to dress it up with an alchemical name? :rolleyes:
Well, baking soda is hard to find here. I have to search around and the only place I’ve found it so far is at a Chinese supermarket not that close to here. It’s a pain.
Add one part mumbo to one part jumbo, stir in the oil of one medium-size snake, and boosh until thoroughly wah.
Everyone should have pH paper at home. It’s one of the great joys in life.
Accordingg to my sister, who claims to have the answer for everything, it’s probably baking soda. She’s lived in Turkey. She did suggest if you don’t have pH paper or a pipette, a burette and some decimolar sulphuric acid handy, you could put it in vinegar adn see if you get a volcano.
StG
The problem is both sodium carbonate and bicarbonate will give you a volcano.
Now I’ve got to think of a way one can tell the difference without “fancy equipment.”
Hmm…
If you have access to some red cabbage, you can use it as an indicator.
Is this the same “natron” used in the Egyptian mummification process?
If so, is it used in canning, & putting up preserves?
Do the obvious: take a little flour, add a some water and oil, a little salt and some of your mystery substance. Knead it into a biscuit and bake it. If it comes out fluffy and tasty, it’s baking soda. If not, you’ve got something else.
Gosh, all this stuff from post #4 getting reiterated!
But no answers to Post # 17. :dubious: