(no subject)

[syredronning]

Guess I was right about the hormones, as it's *that* time of the month again. However, am rather relaxed so far. Not one to give up easily, I baked chocolate muffins take#2 and alas, this time they taste perfectly good :) Not as overly sweet as the ones you can usually buy.

I spent yesterday's evening in a rather hot tub with a book about technical indicators that are used for analyzing stock charts. Cool. I think I'm going to make a little NASDAQ and DAX analysis today. That's what I love best about projects, when they give me something to learn beside the pure software handling. And this one means really treading new grounds.

Coming next: First coffee. Muffins. Fruit salad. Not necessarily in this order.

[Poll #992151]

Comments

[chvickers.livejournal.com]

Baking powder vs. baking soda's a bit confusing, since they have different uses and should not be substituted for each other. More specifically, you should never use soda if the recipe calls for powder.

You generally use baking soda when the batter's going to be somewhat acidic - say, if your muffin recipe calls for fruit juice as the liquid. The soda reacts with the acid to create the gases that make the batter rise. If you use baking soda in a recipe that calls for baking powder, though, the batter might not be acidic enough for the soda-acid chemical reaction, and much of the soda will remain in your batter unchanged - and you'll taste it.

One ingredient in baking powder will develop gases as soon as it hits liquid, so it's better for recipes with a more neutral pH.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

I just read the Wikipedia article, and you're completely right.

The interesting thing is that I have never seen a GERMAN recipe that asked for natron. I bought it for American Pancakes last year - that's why I have some at all.

Therefore, I'm 100% used to baking powder only, and the idea that there is a chemical difference didn't even really occur to me, shame over my head :)

[chvickers.livejournal.com]

Soda is commonly used in North America because it predates baking powder and was invented in the US, so many recipes call for it. It's also significantly less expensive than baking powder.

It was apparently invented by a frontier woman who was tired of having her yeast die off. Back then women who made bread at home had to either keep part of every batch of bread dough back for the next batch or had to buy fresh yeast from the local brewer's every time they wanted to make bread. Now imagine you live 150 km from the nearest brewer's and your yeast culture just died.

One thing about the Oetker products we get here is that they're almost always in tiny packets. Even baking powder comes in tiny packets. I never buy them because baking powder here normally comes in great cans, so buying it per packet seems extravagant. In fact, in the pre-war era baking powder came in 1 pound (500 g) metal tins. The lids were metal too, with sharp edges, because women used them to cut out biscuits, perogy dough, etc. I still have one of those lids.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

Dr. Oetker comes in tiny packages here too - I've never seen big cans of baking powder. (Though the tiny packages are usually sold in a pack of 5 or more).

[chvickers.livejournal.com]

By the way, if you want to use your baking soda up, you can use it as a deodorizer. Baking soda picks up odours very quickly. It's especially good for keeping the fridge clean-smelling. Just leave an open box in the fridge, stir it every month or so, and throw it out when it stops working.

(This is predicated on the assumption that it was inexpensive. If it's expensive there, you may want to keep it for baking, since unlike baking powder, soda lasts virtually forever. You do have to keep it in an airtight container if you want to keep it, though, to prevent it from picking up odours.)

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the price, but I'm pretty sure it will last quite a while. It comes in a packages with five envelopes and the one I opened months ago was still in perfect condition yesterday.

Thanks for the fridge tip, might do that :)

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

In the US baking soda is also used for cleaning and medicinally. We generally get it in fairly large (to huge) boxes, because we use it for a lot more than baking.

[chvickers.livejournal.com]

You can even buy boxes of baking soda with paper filter sides specifically for deodorizing.

It's also used cosmetically. A paste of baking soda and a mild facial cleanser is considered an excellent exfoliant when rubbed gently onto the face, especially for people who can't tolerate salicylic acid.

Baking powder is also sold in larger containers, but in the old days it was sold in 500 mg or more tins simply because back in the old days women did more baking, especially if they lived on a farm and had to cook for 20 farmhands as well as for their families.

[chvickers.livejournal.com]

That should be 500 grams, not 500 milligrams. Sorry. Big tins, that's the point.

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

I should also mention that baking soda is vitally necessary for American volcanos.

Elementary-school children make volcanos from baking soda and vinegar, you see. It foams, it boils over, villagers run screaming ...

Baking soda here is *extremely* cheap, around two dollars a kilo. The idea of getting it in tiny packets is bizarre -- I don't think I've ever seen it in a box smaller than about 200mg.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

Addition: Dr. Oetker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Oetker) started selling his baking powder in German 1893 and essentially took over the German baking world with it *amused*

Even in the German entry for Natron, you won't find it as "ingredient for cakes" but as "ingredient for baking powder"! Isn't it interesting how inventions&companies can shape the world...?

[ex_mrs260625]

Charlene beat me to the powder vs. soda question. :0)

I prefer cooking to baking, definitely. I get recipe ideas from the internet, but I often modify them significantly or just make up recipes out of thin air.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

I just read the Wikipedia article, and you're completely right.

The interesting thing is that I have never seen a GERMAN recipe that asked for natron. I bought it for American Pancakes last year - that's why I have some at all.

Therefore, I'm 100% used to baking powder only, and the idea that there is a chemical difference didn't even really occur to me, shame over my head :)

I prefer baking over cooking any time, though I'm not sure why. Might be that I'm usually much better at baking so it feels easier. But I never make up stuff.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

Addition: Dr. Oetker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Oetker) started selling his baking powder in German 1893 and essentially took over the German baking world with it *amused*

Even in the German entry for Natron, you won't find it as "ingredient for cakes" but as "ingredient for baking powder"! Isn't it interesting how inventions&companies can shape the world...?

[cedara]

Reinweinstein Backpulver, weil es phospatfrei ist, und das Gebäck damit nicht so chemisch schmeckt.

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

Nie gehört, aber ich werd es mir mal anschauen :) Danke für den Tip :)

[qzee.livejournal.com]

1) I prefer to use magic.
2) store bought or from Tim Hortons
3) the only recipe book I have is from my grandmother on my dad's side. I also have one loose recipe of hers somewhere for bread. I'm a really good bread maker (don't try to bake bread when menstruating, the dough won't rise as well). I'm also a great omelette maker, but I use my own recipe for those.