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baking soda uses

17 years ago

Baking soda seems to be the universal natural cleaner! I recently purchased a large box for about $2. I use it to scrub my stainless steel pans-makes them nice and shiny! Also use on glasstop stove and once in a while mix a bit in with my shampoo to remove any build-up on my hair. I know some brush their teeth with it. My 1st grader likes to mix it with vinegar for a "science experiment."

What do you use baking soda for?

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Comments (9)

stargazzer
17 years ago
to wash fruit with and indigestion.
cynic
17 years ago
One of the best drain openers is made from baking soda, salt and vinegar. Pour in the salt (it's an abrasive and helps scrape the scum) baking soda and pour vinegar on it. Foams up and you put the drain stoper back in and let the pressure move it through. Also gets rid of the the small from the buildup.

Sprinkle it on carpets when you leave, then vacuum it up when you come back from a closed up place. Cheaper than buying the perfumed carpet fresheners.

A friend still uses baking soda for an upset stomach.

Car battery terminals getting the buildup? Use baking soda to clean it up.

Here is a link that might be useful: More ideas for baking sods
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OK all you fig preservers, here is the solution to your baking soda dilemma. If you are going to make preserved figs, you put the figs in a colander in the sink, liberally sprinkle baking soda over the figs, and wash it off with boiling water. It sets the skin so that the skins will not pop during there cooking process and will stay in tack. Then put your figs which have been allowed to drain thoroughly into a pot, add tons of white sugar, and DO NOT BOIL!!!!!! simmer all day on low and do not stir. Cover for a while until the figs wilt some and liquid forms then remove cover, you can add a lemon slice or a few cloves. Our family has been making figs their whole lives, our South Carolina folks and this has been handed down from the centuries, tried and true, oldcitydesign@aol.com
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Q. Doesn't baking soda need an acid to work? A. Yes. These ingredients/foods are commonly used with baking soda in leavening: citrus, vinegar, cranberries, rhubarb, apples, berries, apricots, orange juice, honey, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, bananas, carrots, pumpkin, molasses, cocoa and chocolate (listed in decending order from high acid - pH of 2.0 to lower acid - 6.0). Baking soda is an alkali, or a base, and it reacts with acid to make carbon dioxide. Without acid, baking soda can't properly do its job. But think of it as "lightening" the baked good because of the carbon dioxide, not just leavening, because eggs also contribute leavening. Exception to the rule (isn't there always one!): Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't contain an acid counterpart. There's still some carbon dioxide produced, just not as "lively". The baking soda that is left unnutralized can have a soapy, bitter taste. That's another reason to sift, or thoroughly mix, dry ingredients together to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the bulk of the ingredients, and to break up a soda "lump" that can remain because of the quick mixing techniques normally used on chemically-leavened baked goods. The alkalinity can also cause color changes - yellowing the pigments in flour, can accelerate browning, and alter the colors of chocolate and molasses. If the recipe also has cream of tartar in it, that's also an acid that is used to complete the reaction of the soda. -------------------- Q. Doesn't baking soda begin to react with the liquids immediately? A. The liquid ingredients cause the blending of the acid and alkali ingredients in a mixture to create a chemical reaction that makes carbon dioxide. Not just the liquid. If the acid ingredient is a liquid (sour milk, yogurt, etc.,) it is the cause of the reaction. It may take the blending of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to perform the reaction. Baking powder reacts once with the liquid, and then again with the heat from the oven (hence, double-acting baking powder). Hence - the tests for activity level of chemical leaveners. You mix soda with vinegar (a liquid acid) to test it's activity level, while baking powder only needs to be tested with hot water. --------------------- Q. Can the batter be frozen in balls if only baking soda is used, or will they go flat when later thawed and baked? A. Generally speaking, you can freeze cookie dough, even when only leavened with soda. Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't perform as well when the dough is frozen. Eggs also perform part of the leavening. -Grainlady
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marlingardener
17 years ago
I use baking soda and a damp cloth to clean our stainless steel kitchen sink. I am not a fan of stainless, but since it was here when we bought the place, I'm stuck with it. The only thing I have found that makes it look good is baking soda.
I also put about 1/2 c. in with the kitty litter. No matter how good the litter is at absorbing odors, a little baking soda helps it along.
I have found, however, that an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator does nothing to eliminate odors.
wjswe
17 years ago
We have used baking soda for upset stomaches, for the kitty litter box, to clean out pipes, to clean the battery post on the car, to scrub the dishes and as an additive to the laundry.

My great- grandfather once told me that he put baking soda on his brothers yard as a joke. He said that it made the grass grow (quicker I guess). Well that made me curious so I did the same thing to our lawn, low and behold the area that I put the baking soda on grew a lot quicker than the other grass. That was about 18 years ago when gas was a lot cheaper.....
stargazzer
17 years ago
I keep soda in one of the shaker jars like you see in restaurants for cheese. I have seen lists of uses for soda, one said drink some, but was warned it's not good for you. My stomach doctor doesn't like me to use it for indigestion, but I do occasionally.
cynic
17 years ago
Sheesh, stupid typos! meant to say it gets rid of the smell from the buildup...

And I guess even I don't know about more ideas for baking "sods"!

'scuse the errors!
gayle0000
17 years ago
I use BS most for cleaning my glass-top stove. I've never tried the store-bought products for burnt-on spots. Just a little sprinkle of BS, damp washcloth, and the burnt is gone.

My second use is if DD (3 yrs old) or the cat pukes on the carpet. BS liberally on the spot, let it soak up excess liquid. Scrape that up. Pour on vinegar & let it foam. Scrub up.

Oh, and for the stainless steel sinks, I read somewhere to use white flour to shine up the sink. I've found flour or baking soda give the same final result.
PRO
modern life interiors
17 years ago
what is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?
dilly_dally
17 years ago
Google is your friend.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soda vs. Powder

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