This will concentrate its properties and take its pH closer to lye, although it will become slightly more hazardous as a result (via The New York Times).Īs explained by Livestrong, soaking meat in a solution of water and baking soda will alter the surface of the meat by making it alkaline. This process can be somewhat enhanced by following the advice of cooking-science pioneer Harold McGee, who recommends roasting the baking soda in the oven first. As such, boiling bagels in water mixed with baking soda helps speed up the Maillard reaction and achieve a well-browned bagel. The reason alkaline environments or products such as lye speed up this reaction is because they allow amino acids and sugars to interact on a more frequent basis, as reported by The Star.īaking soda has a pH of eight, which, although much lower than lye, still makes it alkaline.
The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry highlights that alkaline conditions - lye has a pH level somewhere between 13 and 14 - speed up the Maillard reaction, the complex process wherein proteins and sugars are altered by heat, resulting in flavors, smells, and other phenomena such as browning. In an attempt to right this wrong, we have collated a list of lesser-known ways to employ baking soda within your kitchen in order to improve your dishes and get this leavening agent the gastronomic respect it deserves. Indeed, baking soda is quite versatile, yet it has been criminally underused within the culinary setting.
Given its history as an extremely multifaceted item, it's somewhat surprising that baking soda has been employed in such a singular role in most kitchens, especially because baking soda can transform many cooking processes, resulting in shorter frying times, improved textures, and far more balanced sauces. Baking soda is still employed for a variety of uses, including both cleaning and deodorizing. In Ancient Egypt, natron was used for the creation of glass, as a medicine, and in the mummification process, as reported in Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie. However, naturally occurring forms of baking soda, such as natron, have been used for various tasks by human civilizations for millennia.
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