Baking soda and edible alkali are substances widely used in life, edible baking soda, its scientific name is sodium bicarbonate, and it is weakly alkaline when detected with PH test paper. The edible alkali is sodium carbonate, which is alkaline average when tested with PH test paper, and their applications are basically the same.
Although there is only one word difference between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, their applications and differences are still significant. Now let's find out.
First of all, they have the same thing in mind in that they can both be used for fruit and vegetable cleaning or household cleaning. For those who think dish soap is unsafe and unhealthy, especially if you are always worried when washing dishes for your child, baking soda or edible alkali can be used to wash it.
Because both of these ingredients are food additives, they are relatively safe. Like some fruits and vegetables that are difficult to clean, they can be soaked in alkaline water, such as bayberry or broccoli and other ingredients with more buds and more gaps, and then rinsed with running water several times after soaking in alkaline water, which is safe and healthy and no additives.
First, alkali is much stronger than baking soda. In other words, when we touch baking soda with wet hands, we will not feel hot, but when we touch the edible soda, we will get burned.
Second, there are functional differences. Both soda and baking soda can be added to fermented flour products, such as steamed buns, steamed buns, noodles, biscuits, fritters, or fried foods. Both of them make the dough fluffier, but there are differences between the two.
Edible alkali is more alkaline, while baking soda is relatively mild, and moderate use will not cause excessive alkalinity, which can make food more fluffy.
Thirdly, in appearance, baking soda is a small white crystal that looks like table salt. So, typically, if the same dosage of tools like a small bowl, a bowl of edible alkali, and a bowl of baking soda are used, the weight of baking soda will be greater.
However, the crystals of baking soda are relatively fine, the particles are smaller than salt, and they are more delicate to the touch, not as rough as edible alkali. Compared with edible alkali, even if baking soda is open, it is not easy to clump, so it is better to preserve.
Edible alkali is a white powdered state that is alkaline. As a result, it is slightly better than baking soda in terms of decontamination ability. The powder is coarse to the touch. When preserving edible alkali, it is likely to clump once it gets wet, so it must be stored in a cool, ventilated and dry place.
Fourth, these two substances can be used to marinate ingredients, and the usage is also different. Soda ash can promote the softening of meat, but the disadvantage is that it has an unpleasant alkaline smell. So when we marinate beef or lamb, we can add soda ash when we want to make it particularly tender and soft without bite, but it is very important to control the amount.
While curing meat, baking soda can break down the fibrous structure of the meat, making it fluffy and swollen, giving it a tender and refreshing taste.
Fifth, in daily life, there is a difference between soda ash and baking soda in the use of soda ash is that soda ash cannot be eaten directly, while baking soda can be taken directly with some water when there is too much stomach acid to relieve stomach acid.
Sixth, in order to make the porridge thicker, some people will add a little baking soda or edible alkali to the porridge. However, this alkaline substance has little effect on rice porridge, but for multigrain porridge and bean porridge, it will destroy the vitamin B1 and B2 components in it, so it is best not to add alkali or baking soda when boiling porridge, but to boil slowly over a fierce fire, although the time will be longer, but the porridge will taste more intense.
Seventh, they are widely recognized for their strong decontamination capabilities. For example, if you have a dishwasher at home, you can add some edible alkali to clean, which can not only ensure cleanliness, but also will not smell like flavor. When using an edible alkali dishwasher, you can buy an affordable large package of edible alkali, which is better than the dishwashing powder in the supermarket.
Eighth, baking soda can also be used when brushing teeth to help whiten teeth, and mixed with facial cleanser when washing your face to remove dead skin.