Rather than saving it for special baking occasions, consider some new baking soda uses around your house.
Honestly, after reading this, you will never have too much baking soda at home.
For cleaning and health, baking soda can be your best friend.
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Its hardworking, safe, good for the environment and cheap.
You brew coffee at home, you dont walk into Target and you refuse to order avocado toast.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, also called bicarbonate of soda.
It is a salt that occurs naturally in a mineral called nahcolite.
Often baking soda and baking powder are thought to be interchangeable in baking, but they are not.
Baking powder has cream of tartar in it, so it is more acidic.
You really cant use baking powder for cleaning or health purposes.
The acid in baking powder would throw the formulas off.
Baking soda reacts with an acid (like vinegar) and the chemical reaction produces carbon dioxide.
Think of fifth grade volcano experiments.
That same bubbling reaction is helpful in cleaning and acts as a leavening agent in baking.
Dont confuse it with soda ash, which is sodium carbonate.
There is no expiration date on baking soda containers because it generally doesnt go bad even after its opened.
However, it starts to lose some of its leavening powers after its been open for six months.
This means baked goods wont rise as much, though it wont affect the taste.
One of the best-known uses for baking soda around the house is cleaning.
If you better wrangle your budget, it may be time to consider a savings challenge.
Dietitian Ryan Raman lists out a number in an article forHealthline.
It can be either too abrasive or acidic, especially if its not diluted with water.
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The Penny Hoarder contributor JoEllen Schilke writes on lifestyle and culture topics.
Assigning editor Karen Grigsby updated this post.
