If you were to take a spoonful of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) into your mouth and consume it as is, it would be an unpleasant experience. First, it would not have any sort of delicious flavour to enjoy. Baking soda is also alkaline, meaning that improper consumption of it could disrupt the acid-base balance in your body and lower the amount of stomach acid, which is needed to digest food. It also hurts to get in your eyes. So, how could something that does not taste particularly good on its own and can disrupt your bodily functions be such a key ingredient in baked goods like pancakes, cakes, and cookies? That is because of its chemistry and the way that sodium bicarbonate changes when used in baked goods recipes. Baking soda is a leavening agent. You may have heard this before or that it gives “rise” to the products. This is all referring to the breakdown of sodium bicarbonate in baking recipes and the positive effects it has. When added to something like pancake batter, along with moisture and an acidic ingredient like lemon juice, sodium bicarbonate will break down and release carbon dioxide gas when the mixture is heated up to the right temperature. The carbon dioxide gas will then start to expand inside the batter. This causes the cells of the batter to expand as well. This expansion of the batter is what you may have heard being referred to as “rise.” It is important that this happens when making something like pancakes. The process of carbon dioxide gas being released from the breakdown of baking soda gives pancakes a light, fluffy texture that helps make them such a popular breakfast food. Without this reaction from baking soda, pancakes would end up being thicker and less of something that you would want to eat in the morning or at any time of day.
Exam questions
What is the chemical name for baking soda?
How does baking soda give “rise” to baked goods?
What effect does baking soda have on the texture of baked goods?
References
Iranian Labour News Agency. (2021, April 14). SODIUM BICARBONATE, PRODUCTION, HISTORY AND USES | ILNA. Iranian Labour News Agency. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.ilna.ir/Section-economy-4/1062921-sodium-bicarbonate-production-history-and-uses
Martinko, K. (2019, January 14). We all love baking soda, but where does it come from? Ciner Resources. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.ciner.us.com/we-all-love-baking-soda-but-where-does-it-come-from/
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). Sodium Bicarbonate | NaHCO3 - PubChem. PubChem. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sodium-Bicarbonate#section=Information-Sources
Sideman, E. (2007). How baking soda is made - material, manufacture, making, history, used, processing, structure, product. How Products Are Made. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Baking-Soda.html
Sircus, M. (2014). Sodium Bicarbonate: Nature's Unique First Aid Remedy. Square One Publishers.
Sodium Bicarbonate. (2006). In N. Schlager, J. Weisblatt, & D. E. Newton (Eds.), Chemical Compounds (Vol. 3, pp. 723-727). UXL. https://link-gale-com.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/apps/doc/CX3441700183/GVRL?u=mtroyalc&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=4ab4d48c
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