[Sca-cooks] Natron

[Terry Decker]

> --- Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
>> I asked Paul Buell his opinion of this recipe as to whether the soda was 
>> a
>> leavening or a flavoring and I remember he believed it was not being used
>> for leavening.  I think the conversation may be in the Florilegium.  If 
>> not,
>> and if you want the comments, I'll try to locate the exchange.
>
>
> Yes, please.  I will also look in the Floretcetera, but if you come across 
> it first, please post
> the goods.  I can't imagine soda being used as a flavoring, but perhaps it 
> served some other
> purpose aside from leavening (which it would do anyway as a natural 
> reaction, right???)
>
> William de Grandfort

It may be a while before I find the thread (somewhere among 10,000 messages 
in two other formats), which is why I suggest checking the Florilegium.

>From the recipe, it looks as though sodium carbonate may be used as a 
substitute for sodium chloride, thus a seasoning.  The leavening effect is 
dependent upon the quantity and the quality of the sodium carbonate and the 
acidity of the liquor used in the recipe.  The leavening does not appear to 
be a deliberate effect of the recipe.

Bear