SC - Cranberries?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Mark Schuldenfrei wrote:

> Adamantius continued:
>   Various cooking sodas (esp. sodium carbonate, commonly known today as
>   washing soda) were in use in Roman cookery, although apparently not as a
>   leavening for baking.
> 
> Washing soda is not for consumption.  Did you mean baking soda, NaHCO3?  Aka
> Bicarbonate of Soda?
> 
>         Tibor

Some source I read quite a while ago (and I think it was the notes to
the Flower and Rosenbaum translation of Apicius, but I can't be sure
without pretty exhaustive checking) equated nitrum (the Roman cooking
soda) with sodium carbonate, which is washing soda. Baking soda is
occasionally used similarly today, which is the similarly formulaed
sodium bicarbonate, but the fact is that what I read, wherever it was,
was carbonate, which stuck in my mind and memory because it was odd.

I realize that washing soda is probably not too high on most people's
"Must Taste" list, but bear in mind I only said that I understood that
the Romans used it, not that I recommend anyone today use it. Also, it
wouldn't surprise me at all if the lawyers have been at it again [i.e.
warning of exaggerated dangers to protect themselves, as with the
Craftsman screwdriver and McDonald's coffee packaging], and that the
amount that would have been used by Roman cooks in a single dish would
possibly have produced no noticable ill effects, most of it being tossed
away with the used cooking water.

BTW, for what it's worth, the baking soda box has a warning to the
effect that taking in excessive quantities of the product internally can
be hazardous to the health...'course they don't really say what's
excessive, so who knows???

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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