Is Baking Soda An Acid Or Base?
By Puja Punia|April 3, 20180 Comment
Have you ever thought as to what turns the gooey mix into savory muffins? Well, we know that heat must have something to do with it, in view of the mix being kept in the oven, but what else is added to make it rise into an appetizing cake. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. So, let’s unmask the secret behind Is Baking Soda An Acid Or Base?
Is Baking Soda An Acid Or Base?| Discoverfoodtech.com
The thing that we need to get all our superhero ingredients working together is baking soda. It is a chemical leavening agent which causes the batter to rise.
What Is Baking Soda Made Up Of? – Is Baking Soda An Acid Or Base?
Baking soda is comprised of sodium bicarbonate, a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is probably the most familiar alkali used in cooking. It is actually the salt of a strong alkali and a weak acid, so that it acts as a weak alkali. The strong alkali is sodium hydroxide (lye), and the weak acid is carbonic acid (soda water). Combining the two together first creates a related compound, sodium carbonate (washing soda).
CO2 + 2NaOH → Na2CO3 + H2O
Combining sodium carbonate with more carbonic acid makes sodium bicarbonate.
Na2CO3 + CO2 + H2O → 2NaHCO3
It is a salt made up of sodium ions and bicarbonate ions. A white solid with a crystalline structure but often comes into sight as a fine powder.
Baking Soda| Image Source – draxe.com
It is odourless and has a slightly bitter, salty taste bogus to that of washing soda (sodium carbonate). A 1% molar solution of baking soda in water has a pH of 8.3 at room temperature. This number indicates that baking soda is alkaline, which gives reason for its bitter taste.So,baking soda is basic in nature.
When baking soda is mixed with an acid, it will instantly react to produce carbon dioxide gas. Do you remember mixing baking soda and vinegar to make volcano in grade school? The same process is occurring in your food, but on a more diluted scale. This causes expansion of the batter and forms the characteristic texture which makes it tender and supports browning. Baking soda is about four times as strong as baking powder. It is used in recipes that contain an acidic ingredient (e.g. vinegar, citrus juice, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, chocolate, cocoa (not Dutch-processed), honey, molasses (also brown sugar), fruits and maple syrup).
Reference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate
http://www.joyofbaking.com/bakingsoda.html
https://sciencing.com/physical-chemical-properties-sodium-bicarbonate-6571412.html
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