Baking Soda Vs. Baking Powder
When it comes to choosing from
between baking soda and baking powder, people have different preferences
while making cakes, cookies or muffins. Let's see what to use and when.
middle of the 19th century saw yeast being replaced by chemical agents
for making breads and cakes fluffy. The carbon dioxide emitted by the
growth and respiration of yeast would make the bread fluffy. The
chemical that replaced yeast and had similar property of emitting CO2
was sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda. Then,
what is baking powder? Baking powder is a mixture, whose main
constituent is nothing but baking soda again. Then, why are we doing
such experiments since senior high? Do we need to make this comparison?
Yes, we do. Now we will see and learn why!
Differentiating between Baking Soda and Baking Powder
baking soda is the main component of baking powder, there's a vast
difference between the two. Before understanding the difference, we need
to know how baking soda works. NaHCO3 is nothing but an alkali (base),
opposite of an acid. When this alkali reacts with any acidic solution it
emits CO2 which is responsible for a baked recipe's fluffy character.
NaHCO3 + CH3COOH → NaCH3COO + H2CO3 → H2O + CO2
(vinegar) Sodium Acetate
we add baking soda to any dough, it reacts with the acidic components
in it, like yogurt, sour cream, lemonade or buttermilk which we
deliberately add while baking. This reaction discharges CO2 bubbles
which makes the dough to rise.
Coming to baking powder, as we
said, it is a mixture. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and
some dehydrated acid (mostly cream of tartar); i.e. the acid with which
the soda is supposed to react while baking, is already added to the main
agent. While baking when we add baking powder to water or milk, this
liquid medium facilitates the alkali-acid reaction which is not possible
when they are in dry powder form. This reaction produces the famous
CO2! To maintain the dryness, baking powder always has an added drying
agent (mostly starch).
So, Which is Better?
simply depends on what the use is. It is necessary to use baking soda
for some recipes, while others may call for the addition of baking
powder. This essentially depends on which other ingredients are used in
the recipe. Pure baking soda is alkaline and if added in excess, without
proper acid neutralization, will give a bitter taste. It is always
advisable to use baking soda instead of in cookies. That's because in
cookie recipes, we add enough acidic ingredients, such as buttermilk or
lemonade, to neutralize the alkalinity of the soda.
On the other
hand, baking powder is a mix of both a base and an acid. Taste wise, it
has a neutral effect. In most recipes that use baking powder, there are
often other neutral-tasting ingredients, like milk. Baking powder is the
commonly used ingredient in cakes.
Apart from cooking, the
baking soda vs. baking powder war is waged on another battleground. Both
of these powders are commonly used for cleaning and deodorizing
purpose. While differentiating both, cleaning is one aspect we can't
overlook. Both of these are widely used for cleaning purposes. For
general purpose cleaning, baking soda is recommended. This is because,
more often than not, while cleaning, we use a wet swab or cloth. As,
we've seen, this would facilitate an acid-base reaction, if we are to
use baking powder for wet cleaning purpose. But, for cleaning stubborn
patches like burnt food stains, baking powder can prove highly
Baking soda works as a good deodorant. Both baking
soda and baking powder can be used for this purpose. If placed in
refrigerators or store rooms, they can quickly get rid of any foul
smell. Again, one should ensure complete dryness while using baking
powder, as moisture will make it ineffective and may enhance the odor
instead. Uses of baking soda includes brushing teeth with baking soda.
with various aspects studied for the comparison, you can very well
conclude that both are very useful, and surely our kitchens cannot do
without either of them.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/baking-soda-vs-baking-powder.html