Can cleaning Bicarb of soda be used for cooking?

Guapa1

My mum recently got bicarbonate of soda cleaner from the 99p shop, and I was wondering if it could be used for cooking. All it says on the ingredients is sodium bicarbonate. On the container of cooking one it says bicarbonate of soda.

A 200g container of bicarb is 55p whereas the cleaning one has 500g for 99p.


Is it just the companies trying to pull a quick one, or can I use it for cooking?

*EDIT*
They look the same, but the cleaning one isn't clumpy.

Seakay

I think that it would be the same thing and edible - just sieve it to remove lumps.

gabyjane

mine says not to as i had run out the other day..so i didn't! may be wrong though!

allydowd

'''Baking soda''' is a common name for sodium bicarbonate, a common alkali. '''Bicarbonate of soda''' is another common name, substituting "soda" for "sodium." The term '''bicarbonate of baking soda''' is also used in some contexts, although it is not common and may be considered redundant.

'''Baking powder,''' on the other hand, is a leavening agent that includes baking soda, among other ingredients.

Bicarbonate of Soda and Sodium Bicarbonate both have the same chemical formula: NaHCO3 and are therefore the same thing.

Penelope_Penguin

Guapa1 wrote: »

My mum recently got bicarbonate of soda cleaner from the 99p shop, and I was wondering if it could be used for cooking. All it says on the ingredients is sodium bicarbonate. On the container of cooking one it says bicarbonate of soda.

Chemically they'll both be the same thing. The product marketed for cleaning won;t have been made to the same stringent standards as the one for cooking. Up to you, of course, but I'd not be confident that the cleaner wasn't contaminated with other cleaning products :eek:

Penny. x

[Deleted User]

well I made some butterfly cakes today and I always add a flat tea spoon of bicarbonate of soda to my sponge cake mixture and its not killed me yet and I have been cooking for almost 60 years .My late Mum also did this ,it makes the cake light and fluffy

StumpyPumpy

I'm with Penny on this - the ingredients seem to be the same but what you are really gambling with is the difference between something that is made to food grade standards and something which isn't. I have no idea of how cleaning bicarb is made but I know you can make it using sodium hydroxide - otherwise known as caustic soda - not something you'd want to eat, but not something the manufacturers would worry about as a contaminant in a cleaning product.

Of course, they might just be the same thing made in the same place just put into a different container: but is the risk worth a saving of less than 1/2p a teaspoon?

Regards

SP

Guapa1

Thanks everyone for your answers. It makes sense that it might not be food standard so I won't risk it.

timmmers

It's probably got filler like talc as well as bicarb, hence the price. The cleaning vinegar sprays are nowhere near pure vinegar either not that it matters much for cleaning use.

Tried making cinder toffee with the bicarb yet ? http://icecreamireland.com/2007/11/14/honeycomb-toffee/

Dipped in chocolate it's to die for

t

Guapa1

Timmers, why would you that to me? Are you a part of an anti slim Guapa1 crack team? I'll have to make it now!

OK so not for cooking, how about a face scrub and shampoo?