baking soda

baking soda

n. A white crystalline compound, NaHCO₃, with a slightly alkaline taste, used in making effervescent salts and beverages, artificial mineral water, pharmaceuticals, and fire extinguishers. Also called bicarbonate of soda, sodium bicarbonate.

so′dium bicar′bonate

n. a white water-soluble powder, NaHCO₃, used chiefly as an antacid, a fire extinguisher, and a leavening agent in baking. Also called bicarbonate of soda, baking soda. [1880–85]

bak·ing soda

(bā′kĭng) A white crystalline compound, NaHCO₃, chemically known as sodium bicarbonate. It is used especially in beverages and as a leavening agent to make baked goods. Also called bicarbonate of soda.Did You Know? Baking soda is probably in your kitchen or refrigerator right now. A white, chalky powder, baking soda is the common name for the chemical sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO₃. Baking soda is a base and reacts with acids in what is called neutralization, because both the acid and the base are converted into more neutral substances on the pH scale. Neutralization with baking soda usually produces carbon dioxide gas, which you can observe bubbling forth if you mix vinegar (an acid) and baking soda. Such reactions are used in cooking to take advantage of the gas, as in getting a cake to rise. A small amount of baking soda, about a half teaspoon, can even be mixed with water and swallowed to neutralize the acid that may cause indigestion. That neutralization reaction produces carbon dioxide gas in your stomach, which you expel—as a burp. Baking soda also has the unique ability to neutralize substances that are more basic than it is. This ability to neutralize both acids and many bases is why baking soda is so effective at reducing odors, such as those unwanted ones in your refrigerator.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

baking soda - a white soluble compound (NaHCO3) used in effervescent drinks and in baking powders and as an antacidbicarbonate of soda, saleratus, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonatebicarbonate, hydrogen carbonate - a salt of carbonic acid (containing the anion HCO3) in which one hydrogen atom has been replaced; an acid carbonate

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