Can someone please tell where in Basel (I live close to the main Bahnhof) I can buy some Baking Soda (NOT Baking Powder, I know this is easily obtained)???

Any Migros or Coop sells "Natron". Try that.

Go to a Migros. Among the baking ingredients shelves you will find 'Natron' (bicarbonate de sodium) in a 20g pack for CHF0.50.

Or at Coop, it comes in a set of 3 tiny packs.

i've seen little 5 sachet packs of 5g each in coop, brand name oetiker i think. it'll be in the confectionery section. have a good nosey there.

So funny! Had exactly the same issue last week... my dreadful german skills totally bemused the co op cashier!! She ended up giving me a bag of breadcrumbs!!

I'm looking for HUGE amounts of baking soda. well not huge, but certainly more than 3 packets I heard it's a great cleaner and since the drain cleaner i've been using doesn't seem to work well, and is environmentally-unfriendly, i wanted to give the baking soda+ vinegar solution a shot. But i've not been able to find anything more than the 3 measley packets at Coop! Does anyone know where i can get a bucket of it for cleaning purposes (not food grade)?

p.s: I'm based in Zurich.

THanks in advance!!

In this thread ( All Purpose Flour equivalant ), the suggestion is made to visit the chemist (pharmacist / apothecary) to get large quantities of baking soda. They'll probably more familiar with calling it "bicarbonate of soda" or "natron" as the packets for baking are labeled.

Good luck!

There is a store called Fenwicks, their address is Missionsstrasse 15a, near Spalentor. They have Arm & Hammer baking soda there.

Drugstores here are one of the great things about Switzerland. Almost anything you can dream of can be had there. Something like sodium bicarbonate should be in stock, other things like stearic acid or powdered Prussian Blue might have to be ordered.

My experience had been that they get a kick out of filling an order like this. And it's usually cheaper than you'd expect.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful replies! I'm now ready to go into a drugstore (i hope by that you mean an apotheke?) and ask for sodium bicarbonate! Hope they don't look at me strangely hehe...

I think it's the Drogerie not the Apotheke that sell it. I also need some. I bought a big box back from Australia, cause i love cleaning with it and it makes cakes etc, rise up like a dream. Good luck!

I am getting a bit concerned - the type of soda crystals used for clearing drains (caustic) is not to be confused with bicarbonate of soda that is used to make buns rise!

I found some Sodium Bicarbonate in an Indian store in Zürich - under 2CHF for a large pot.

Is there any chinese store around your place? I've seen that at the chinese store in zurich. It's in a big tin!

These guys can sell all types of soda you as much as you need.

http://www.solvaychemie.ch/uebersich...857-4-0,00.htm

They are the same thing! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodiu...edirected=true Aside from cleaning and baking, it's also very helpful for a sour stomach.

Caustic soda will make a hole in the stomach. Not at all helpful I would say.

Here is some chemistry 101

Caustic soda NaOH (will dissolve fats, clean oven and drains)

Washing soda Na2CO3 (In detergents, used as a milder cleaning agent)

Baking soda NaHCO3 (the one for baking bread!)