Baking soda and edible alkali are two condiments commonly used by people in life, there are many friends who can't distinguish between them, in fact, their roles are the same and different, and if you confuse the two with the wrong use, eating it may lead to health damage, then, what is the difference between the two? Tell you the answer all at once today.

What are baking soda and edible alkali?
Both baking soda and edible alkali are food puffing agents, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and edible alkali is mainly a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Both are alkaline spices but slightly different.
1) Baking soda
Baking soda is less alkaline and decomposes into sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide and water when heated, so when making pasta such as steamed buns and fritters, the carbon dioxide produced after heating will make the pasta fluffy and soft. And for the steamed buns with old noodles, baking soda and edible alkali can be used to neutralize the acidity in the old noodles, making the taste better. And because baking soda is less alkaline, it can also be used to prepare soda water and drink directly, but edible alkali cannot be drunk directly because it is more alkaline.
2) Edible alkali
Edible alkali is also more common in daily life, mainly used to make alkali noodles. Because the pasta may have a sour taste after cooking, if you put in the right amount of edible alkali, you can make the sour taste neutralized, and the pasta becomes more fluffy, lubricated, and the noodles are more elastic, but pay attention to the dosage, it is not delicious to use more. When we wrap rice dumplings, the rice dumplings wrapped in glutinous rice soaked in grass and wood ash water will be golden yellow, but people in the northern region will use edible alkali instead of grass and wood ash water, so that golden yellow rice dumplings can also be wrapped, baking soda is weakly alkaline, so it is impossible to do this.
What is the difference between baking soda and edible alkali?
1) Chemical differences:
In appearance, baking soda and edible soda ash are white substances, baking soda is a fine crystal, and soda ash is powder. The chemical name of baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), the chemical name of edible soda ash is called sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), baking soda is weakly alkaline, and the alkalinity of edible alkali is relatively strong. The thermal stability of edible soda ash is stronger than that of baking soda. Baking soda decomposes to form sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide when heated. Edible soda ash heating will not decompose.
2) The method of use in the kitchen is different
Meat food, adding edible alkali can promote the softening of meat, the disadvantage is that there is a bad smell of alkali. Soda ash can soak soft dry goods; baking soda can destroy the structure of meat fibers, making the meat soft and swollen, fresh and smooth. In addition to the edible function of baking soda, it can also be used for cleaning, such as cleaning cutting boards, pots and pans, cleaning fruits and vegetables, and even dredging sewers, removing dirt on the ground, oil stains on cooking utensils and so on.
The two behave differently in making pasta. Eating soda ash is more irritating, and we often use it in the kitchen to steam steamed buns. Baking soda has a mild effect. Use in moderation without irritation. It can make the food fluffy and porous taste better.
3) Security is different
Edible alkali is not directly inleted and has a certain irritation to the body. Baking soda is relatively safe, and if the stomach is uncomfortable in our daily life, it can be eaten directly and has a certain effect. Baking soda can make dishes cook faster when making them.
Whether it is baking soda or edible alkali, pay attention to the amount of use when using, not the more the better. Although these two are relatively similar in the seasoning industry, there are still many differences when used.
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