I have already used vinegar for making chutney and for cleaning our two greenhouses with M. Today I combined bicarbonate of soda (an ingredient of Lancashire Parkin and teabreads) and hot distilled vinegar to unblock a slowly draining handbasin in our bathroom.
The technique is to pour down the bicarb. first, then the hot vinegar and to follow this with hot water to flush through.
As I watched the reaction that occured when these two substances came into contact with a satisfying 'fizz' I thought back to my days at high school. I was an 'arts' person who found essays easier than equations. Moreover our teacher, God rest her soul, often struggled with ill health. I therefore dropped Chemistry as soon as I could.
Today as I watched the water draining down the plughole I came to the conclusion that (with time) I could have grasped Chemistry. If only I could have started with household stuff: bicarb, bleach, beeswax, and then built up to the equations.
My chemistry, like my cooking will always be 'kitchen chemistry' but I will still wonder at and record the amazing nature of everyday things. I console myself. I am capable, I could have taken Chemistry.
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