Monday 19 March 2012

My top 4 baking ingredients that have a DOUBLE USE!

Did you know some baking/cooking ingredients ALSO DOUBLE as gentle, eco-friendly cleaners? No harsh chemicals and not another "thing" to buy. Plus, you can get more use of your ingredients.

Here are my top 4 favorite ingredients that double as everyday cleaners:

1) BAKING SODA: Double as a gentle cleaner for non-stick and stainless steel cookware.
How: Make a "paste" with baking soda and water. It should be thick like wet sand. Rub that on the stain on your cookware, leave it for 15 minutes, and wash off with regular dish soap and soft sponge. Repeat this process, 2-4 times, if the stain is very bad and harsh. Forget those "special cleaners" for cookware, baking soda and regular dish soap is all you need. Want that nice stainless steel "shine" back, on your cookware? Use a stainless steel polish on the exterior of your cookware.

2) DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR: Double has laundry cleaner to remove "very stinky" smell from clothes.
How: If you have very bad smelling clothes, from gym/sweating or outdoors, soak your clothes in a solution of water and distilled white vinegar. (3 parts water: 1 part vinegar) Avoid "wine vinegars." Only use wine vinegars in cooking/baking. After soaking, rinse with water, and wash as you normally would.

3) LEMON JUICE: Double has a cleaner for stainless steel stain remover.
How: Did you burn something in your lovely stainless steel pan, and now your pain is fried and burnt? Let the pan cool to room temp, FIRST. Then, filled with a solution of lemon juice (1 part) and water (2 parts). Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Pour the water-lemon juice solution down the drain and wash the pan with regular dish soap. Repeat, if the stain is very bad. Don't have any lemon juice on hand? Use distilled white vinegar!

4) HONEY: Double as a skin scar cream.
HOW: Have a minor (NOT major) burn, scab, or scar? Try putting honey on it. Yup, HONEY. It naturally has minerals and enzymes that will help the healing process. First, clean your scab (with hydrogen peroxide) and with a cotton swab, spread a thin layer of honey on the scab. Put a bandage over the scab. Repeat until it is healed. Have a more serious infection? See a doctor or medical professional.

I learn these "special" tricks from: product warranty information, grandmas, and fellow social media buddies (example: tweeples and blogger peeps). Before you starting buying more and more cleaners for your house, check out if there is any "other ingredient" you can use first. Do you have a serious stain? Then, a store-bought cleaner may be the answer.

Happy baking,
Kimm

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