The Chemical That Calls Itself a Spice
Move a few spices in your cupboard around and you just might be surprised to find it there. Did you know that over an ounce of this, if ingested, is toxic?
It is used in the garden, as a cosmetic, a toiletry, a pool cleaner, and even has been used to kill ground moles. To learn more about this versatile product read on.
Would you use a pool cleaner in your pickles?
Maybe if the container looked like this..
Alum defined as a salt that is a chemical “combination of an alkali metal such as sodium, potassium, or ammonium and a trivalent metal such as aluminum, iron or chromium.” Ochef.com
In Europe, Mexico and Thailand Potassium alum is known as Sam-Som. In Asia and the Philippines it is known as Tawas
Uses for alum:
· Used to turn white hydrangeas pink or blue. It may take a few years of treatment but you will be rewarded with pretty blue or pink flowers. It is simple to alter the pH of the soil if growing your hydrangea in a container. If they are planted in your garden it may be a little trickier. Click on the link below the photo and get specific instructions.
- · Used as a skin whitener. While many skin whiteners are good only for oily skin, this is a recipe which does not dry the skin:
v Take a bunch of grapes, sprinkle them with alum powder and salt
v Wrap them in aluminum foil or brown paper.
v Bake for 20 minutes either in hot ashes or an oven.
v Squeeze out excess liquid and wash face with the remains
- · Used in the preparations of some toothpastes
- · Used in deodorants or deodorant crystals.
- · Used to stop bleeding, and as an antiseptic, both in styptic pencils and to assist in stopping the bleeding under a dog’s nails when clipped too short.
- · Used in aftershave
- · Used as a soothing agent in depilatory waxes.
- · Used long ago by men as a grooming aid in the once popular hairstyle the flattop to hold hair in place.
- · Used as an adjutant in vaccines such as hepatitis A, B and DTaP.
- · Used to clear cloudy water in the pool.
- · As a home remedy for canker sores
- · Dissolved in five parts water to shrink hemorrhoids and stop bleeding.
- · As a flame retardant and in fire extinguishers.
- Used as one of the ingredients in children’s play dough.
- · Was used long ago by farmers to eradicate ground moles from their lawns and fields.
- Used for food processing, and is one of the components in baking powder.
In making pickles alum is used to soak the fruit or vegetable prior to pickling to give it its crispness and while it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration it is unsafe consumed in quantities of one ounce or more. It should not be used in the final pickling stages.
As a final word, please take care if using this “spice” in food preparation.
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References:
Farmer’s Almanac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum
http://www.bestbeautyinfo.com/treatment-tips-for-skin-whitening.html
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Published in: Cooking
CHAN LEE PENG | May 22, 2011 | Reply
I think it always recommended to read the chemical we are going to use carefully to avoid any mishandling of the chemical substance.
Jenny Heart | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Most helpful information!
Judy Sheldon | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Chan, yes, it is very wise to read the label.
Jenny, thanks for your support!
Take care and God bless.
quiet voice | May 22, 2011 | Reply
…Such a revealing article on the product. Thank you Jud
Judy Sheldon | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Quiet Voice, my friend Jeannie was telling me about how her great grandpa found details in the Farmer’s Almanac on how to use this product to rid the land of ground moles. It definitely piqued my curiosity!
Thanks for your loyal support!
Uma Shankari | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Unique article. Enjoyed reading and learning from it. To make sweet pickle out of Indian gooseberry ( Phyllanthus emblica) soaked in sugar syrup, the gooseberry has to be prepared because it has strong astringent and somewhat bitter properties. The berries are pierced with a fork and soaked in a very dilute solution of alum. It was also used in making tooth powders (my grand father used to make tooth powders at home using burnt and powdered rice husk, burnt and powdered alum, etc, among other things.)
Judy Sheldon | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Uma, I learn so much from you. Your response is fascinating. My sources also advised that alum is used in making tooth paste among other things!
Anuradha Ramkumar | May 22, 2011 | Reply
Very interesting. alum for making toothpaste, sounds interesting,
valli | May 23, 2011 | Reply
We use alum to clean dirty water. I will take extra care while dealing with this from now onwards. Thank you Judy, for the valuable information.
payaltyagi | May 23, 2011 | Reply
good post
Payge | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Wow….didnt know one product had so many uses though its not in my cabinet yet.Will definatly have to start reading labels a bit better then I do now.
Joseph Parks | May 23, 2011 | Reply
this is great information. Great work spreading it.
Christine Ramsay | May 23, 2011 | Reply
I didn’t know this product had so many uses. A very interesting and informative piece.
The Quail 1957 | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Excellent article Judy! Well researched, well written and extremely useful and educational!
Judy Sheldon | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Anuradha, the things us humans put in our mouths is intriguing.
Valli, it did list one its uses as clearing cloudy water, but it also states it can be toxic.
Payaltyagi, thanks for reading and your support.
Payge, we should read labels very carefully.
Joseph, love your avatar. Thanks for the support.
Christine, I love finding about the many uses of products. Thanks for your support.
Quail, thanks for your comment and congrats again on your books!
Thanks all and God bless!
papaleng | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Never known this facts until now, thanks for sharing this excellent article with us. Yes I do know about Tawas and how effective it is to whiten one’s underarm. Many locals use this treatment. But that is all they know, the bad side of ‘tawas” is alien to many. Again, thanks for the valuable information.
Darlene McFarlane | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Interesting article, Judy. I didn’t realize Alum was considered a spice and I was unaware of it’s many uses. I knew a girl who used to mix small amounts with her face cream to tighten pores and temporarily erase fine lines.
I will have to check my toothpaste label.
A Bromley | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Very well written and informative article. I didn’t know all of this about alum. Thanks.
Wiggles18 | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Nasty- Alum is also used when tanning animal hides…
RS Lannan | May 23, 2011 | Reply
wow, this was surprising…or not. I keep learning more and more about things we consume that aren’t food.
Judy Sheldon | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Papaleng, we need to know the good and bad about anything we consume or use.
Darlene, perhaps not a spice but it is sold in the spice section of our grocery stores.
A Bromley, I was fascinated as the information came to light.
Wiggles18, wow, so this is another use for alum besides pickling.
RS Lannan, I know and we keep consuming them.
Thanks everyone and God bless.
Sara Holt | May 23, 2011 | Reply
very interesting
Judy Sheldon | May 23, 2011 | Reply
Sara, thanks for the comment.
valli | May 24, 2011 | Reply
Judy, I meant that we used to use alum to clean water in the past. The water is used for cooking and drinking etc. But now we use water filters. I learned so many things about alum from this article. Thank you once again.
Bad Marble | May 24, 2011 | Reply
Very well presented information about alum and its many uses
CA Johnson | May 24, 2011 | Reply
You did excellent research. I have never heard of this chemical before. It seems to have a lot of uses. I agree that it is important to read labels carefully before you buy anything.
Judy Sheldon | May 24, 2011 | Reply
Valli, I understand. Thanks so much for your support.
Bad Marble, thank you for commenting.
Cheryl, it is very important to read labels carefully. You are absolutely right!
Take care and God bless!
ronthoughts | May 25, 2011 | Reply
Great article here Judy, nice to know these facts, thanks.
athena goodlight | May 25, 2011 | Reply
This is very interesting information to me. Alum is abundant in our country. It is also well-known as an effective body deodorant.
lanne | May 26, 2011 | Reply
Good info Judy. I used to use it as part of the recipe I had for making the kids homemade playdough. It made it nice and smooth.
Jeff Powers | May 26, 2011 | Reply
Interesting stuff
Judy Kaelin | May 26, 2011 | Reply
Great for canker sores in the mouth, my family has used it for years!
Fleur D | May 26, 2011 | Reply
Good article. I had no idea. Thanks.
Minister Marlene | Jun 20, 2011 | Reply
I didn’t know this. It’s a bit scary. I do know that MSG was never really taken off the shelves, so we do have to read. We have to read more than labels. Articles like yours are a great place to start.
Judy Sheldon | Jun 20, 2011 | Reply
Ronthoughts, you are so welcome. I have learned so much from you that it is nice to be able to return the favor.
Athena, thanks for your support.
Lanne, I remember using it for play dough and pickles, but no one warned me that it could be toxic. We used to eat our play dough off of our fingers.
Jeff, thank you.
Judy Kaelin, that is good to know.
Fleur D, thanks.
Minister Marlene, I study labels mainly because of MSG, and other similar sodium containing products.