How to Make sure
Baking Powder:
Once opened, baking powder should be stored airtight using the handy snap-on cover provided. Do glance at the (generally conservative) “Use By” date from time to time. If you doubt your powder or wonder if you can get by using it after the “Use By” date, you can test it as follows:
Spoon or pinch a little powder into a tiny dish and pour a bit of warm or hot water over it. The mixture should bubble in a lively manner and you should hear the fizz. If there is no bubbling or it doesn’t seem lively — or you are just nervous — get a new tin rather than waste time and ingredients baking with pooped-out powder.
Baking Soda:
Received wisdom, and every baking site on the internet, will tell you that baking soda has a shelf life and will lose its potency similarly to baking powder. Some sources say it should be used within 18 months and that humidity can shorten its life.
So I found an ancient box of soda open in the back of my fridge with a 2009 “Use By” date. It was a little clumpy due to the humidity (and heaven knows what else it was exposed to in my fridge). I put a giant pinch of it in a tiny dish next to another tiny dish with a giant pinch of the soda from my baking cupboard, which is fresher but opened and unsealed. (I may be devil-may-care with my soda, but even I don’t use the stuff that’s deodorizing my fridge for baking.) Since soda activates with acid rather than water, I spooned a little vinegar into each dish. Both samples bubbled and fizzed happily.
Bottom line: Be vigilant with your baking powder; don’t worry too much about the soda.
James Ransom
‘IS BAKING POWDER OR BAKING SODA FRESH?????
How to Make sure
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Baking Powder:
Once opened, baking powder should be stored airtight using the handy snap-on cover provided. Do glance at the (generally conservative) “Use By” date from time to time. If you doubt your powder or wonder if you can get by using it after the “Use By” date, you can test it as follows:
Spoon or pinch a little powder into a tiny dish and pour a bit of warm or hot water over it. The mixture should bubble in a lively manner and you should hear the fizz. If there is no bubbling or it doesn’t seem lively — or you are just nervous — get a new tin rather than waste time and ingredients baking with pooped-out powder.
Baking Soda:
Received wisdom, and every baking site on the internet, will tell you that baking soda has a shelf life and will lose its potency similarly to baking powder. Some sources say it should be used within 18 months and that humidity can shorten its life.
So I found an ancient box of soda open in the back of my fridge with a 2009 “Use By” date. It was a little clumpy due to the humidity (and heaven knows what else it was exposed to in my fridge). I put a giant pinch of it in a tiny dish next to another tiny dish with a giant pinch of the soda from my baking cupboard, which is fresher but opened and unsealed. (I may be devil-may-care with my soda, but even I don’t use the stuff that’s deodorizing my fridge for baking.) Since soda activates with acid rather than water, I spooned a little vinegar into each dish. Both samples bubbled and fizzed happily.
Bottom line: Be vigilant with your baking powder; don’t worry too much about the soda.
James Ransom’
