Re: Alum not Agar WAS Re: Asian Pantry List

[Guest guest]

>MAP] Hmm, that's interesting. I thought agar was some kind of

>polysaccharide thickener or something, don't know much about it, but I

>do use those " Thai deodorant stone " type thingies from a HFS. Are you

>saying I could buy agar from an Asian shop and use it instead? I'm

>having trouble imagining how those thingies could possibly be used in

>cooking! I hate it when those damn things fall and break because they

>get too sharp to use without cutting yourself, so you have to throw

>them away! At least the Now brand ones are very cheap.

Agar is from seaweed, it isn't Alum. Agar is used for growing bacteria

in dishes, and for thickening, it's great stuff! But it doesn't kill bacteria,

which is what you need for deodorant.

Some of the " deodorant stones " are basically the same as deodorant

sticks, full of aluminum stuff. Both kefir and bentonite clay also kill

the 'stinky' bacteria: probably there are other alternatives too. One

of the problems with deodorant stones is that the " dose " is variable,

depending on the amount of moisture and temp at the moment.

Heidi Jean