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Baking soda

Lucas_Bernardes_39322

Hi guys, first of all, I want to congratulate you for the site and the proposal of the work that you are developing, disseminating knowledge free of charge for the food lovers... So, my question is about the different applications that baking soda can be in the kitchen, since I see you guys using in many recipes, for different reasons...

Thnks and congrats again !

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grant

Well,

Basically its is used to leaven products by creating gas.

Make products more alkaline for increased browning or Ph buffing.

Grant

Lucas_Bernardes_39322

Quick and objective. Thanks Grant !

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Some specific uses that are interesting.......

It will allegedly work much the same as phosphates in retaining moisture in sausages and the like:

Source: Handbook of Meat and Meat Processing By Y. H. Hui

It's also useful in making fresh eggs easier to peel....

From On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen By Harold McGee, Page 88:

"Difficult peeling is characteristic of fresh eggs with a relatively low albumen pH, which somehow causes the albumin to adhere to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it coheres to itself. At the pH typical after several days of refrigeration, around 9.2, the shell peels easily. If you end up with a carton of very fresh eggs and need to cook them right away, you can add a half teaspoon of baking soda to a quart of water to make the cooking water alkaline."

Baked baking soda (a stronger alkali) is very effective in pretzel making and other uses.

"Just spread a layer of soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour. You’ll lose about a third of the soda’s weight in water and carbon dioxide, but you gain a stronger alkali. Keep baked soda in a tightly sealed jar to prevent it from absorbing moisture from the air. And avoid touching or spilling it. It’s not lye, but it’s strong enough to irritate.

Baked soda is also strong enough to make a good lye substitute for pretzels. In order to get that distinctive flavor and deep brown color, pretzel makers briefly dunk the shaped pieces of raw dough in a lye solution before baking them. Many home recipes replace the lye with baking soda, but the results taste like breadsticks, not pretzels.

Baked soda does a much better job of approximating true lye-dipped pretzels. Just dissolve 2/3 cup (about 100 grams) in 2 cups of water, immerse the formed raw pretzels in this solution for three to four minutes, rinse off the excess dipping solution in a large bowl of plain water, and bake."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/dining/15curious.html?_r=0

~Martin

Brendan_Lee_56950

I use the baked, baking soda to make ramen noodles, works pretty well.

jim_53915

I have been told baking soda in water for blanching green vegetables makes them more vibrant green colored. Is there any scientific proof that this does or does not work?

Tim_Sutherland_52834

This long post by Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues does mention baking soda in water when blanching green vege.

"I love this one: It can be used to keep boiled green vegetables bright

without losing firmness. Every cook knows that adding a pinch of baking

soda to cooking water helps green vegetables stay green. Cooking in

neutral or acidic water at high heat encourages chlorophyll to lose

magnesium. Once the magnesium ion is lost the chlorophyll, now in its

degraded form known as pheophytin, takes on a drab color. Cooking in

alkaline water (like with baking soda) prevents the chlorophyll from

losing magnesium, so the color stays bright. Unfortunately, alkaline

conditions also cause pectin structures to break down rapidly –so baking

soda causes irremediable mushiness — which is why I don’t use it. Use

calcium hydroxide instead — Its basic nature ensures vegetables stay

green. Its calcium cross-links pectin ensuring that the vegetables

don’t go mushy."