Paphos People

Hi,

for some baking I need sodium hydroxide / caustic soda in food quality (not technical quality).
In my home country drugstores and pharmacies sell that sort of stuff but not here.

Can anybody help and point me in a direction where to buy?

Many thanks

From my military days NaHCO3 is very caustic and is quite dangerous, I wonder what type of baking do you intend do because Sodium hydroxide is used to manufacture soaps, rayon, paper, explosives, dyestuffs, and petroleum products.
Never seen it used in baking before however not being a baker I could wrong, if you tell us what you want it for we may be able to help.

If it helps you to help me:

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or lye is used to make traditional pretzels.
Traditional Bavarian pretzels are dipped in a lye solution before they are baked. It changes the pretzel's flavor and color in a way you can't really explain until you taste it.
Lye can be toxic in high concentrations, but is also commonly used for curing foods like lutefisk. Most bakers use food-grade lye, which is the chemical equivalent of drain cleaner, but is produced and packaged in a clean, regulated way.
Since the lye dip is heavily diluted and the pretzel is baked after dipping, it won't kill you.

Strange those Germans, are they not?

Hi thank you for your explanation now I know why they give me gas.
No seriously my wife bakes a lot and she says the best place to go is the main Papantoniou in Paphos, apparently they have a very good baking section or try the supermarket just before you join the motor way (Tesco style supermarket) they have a good baking section, hope this helps.

I think the supermarket you refer to is 'Alpha Mega'.

Thanks SFD, could not think of the name

Thanks,

I had of course checked both theses sources and other supermarkets.

Supermaktes readily sell NaHCO3 under the name of baking soda.

However, because of the dangers highlighted above, they do not sell NaOH (caustic soda) in food grades. And that is what I need.
The only source I could imagine would be a traditional drug store but I am not aware of any.

Having said that, I found on the net: "Black olives result from normal (green) olives being subjected to a lye-based chemical bath."
So I wonder: Where doe olive farmers make black olives from green olives and where do they get the lye from?

Many thanks

I thought Papas sold packets of Lye, its normally located near to the Lime and packets of asbestos for cooking.

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Thanks,

I will take another look