Baking soda has countless uses in both cooking and cosmetics. Its benefits are so many because it is completely safe to use and every application of it is safe for humans. However, in cooking, every chef must know that it needs to be activated in order to develop its potential as an ingredient in different dishes.
Baking soda in chemistry is better known as the unsaturated sodium salt of carbonic acid. In its normal state, it is a solid, but to be useful as an ingredient in the kitchen, it must be activated with acid. Depending on the recipe and the ingredients used in the preparation of the dish, the soda activators used are:
- yogurt (when the yogurt is fermented, the lactose turns into lactic acid thanks to the two bacteria we use to ferment the yogurt);
- vinegar (in its composition, vinegar contains a large amount of acid, in the worst case, according to its production, it can be 6+/- % acid, which helps the process of activation of baking soda)
- lemon (lemon is the most famous citrus acid fruit, which also helps activate baking soda, because it is a strong alkalizing food).
When activating baking soda it is usually used as a raising agent for pastries and biscuit products.
Unlike other leavening agents that are used in the preparation of various foods in the food industry, the consumption of a leavening agent such as baking soda does not endanger the body of consumers.
The only problem with baking soda is that sometimes when using a larger amount, an overpowering aroma of the already activated soda can occur due to the resulting chemical compound.
