Can You Bake With Arm And Hammer Baking Soda?

Arm and Hammer are a recognized brand of baking soda.

It is used in many applications and for lots of different tasks around the home, but can you bake with their baking soda?

Baking With Arm And Hammer Pure Baking Soda

Yes you can bake with Arm and Hammer baking soda but only with their pure baking soda which is perfectly safe for human consumption.

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, to give it its proper chemical name will help dough to rise and make your cakes fluffy and light.

Baking soda reacts with acids to produce carbon dioxide and this is what causes baked goods to rise.

It is a key ingredient in baking powder which combines it with cream of tartar to produce a leavening agent.

It can be used in a lot of food recipes and not just in baked goods.

Pure baking soda can make mashed potatoes fluffier, crisp up chicken skin and just a sprinkle will help boiled vegetables retain their vibrant color.

It can also help to tenderize meat.

If you need baking powder for a baking recipe, but you only have baking soda you can combine it with an acid such as lemon juice to act as a substitute leavening agent.

You should always check the expiration date of your baking soda if you are using it in cooking or baking as over time it can lose its potency.

To see if it is still good put some in a bowl and add a few drops of vinegar, if the solution fizzes the baking soda is good.

Only use Arm Hammer pure baking soda for baking and not any of their other varieties such as fridge deodorizer or for general cleaning purposes around the home.

What Else Can Baking Soda Be Used For?

What Else Can Baking Soda Be Used For?

Apart from making dough rise baking soda has countless uses around the home. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Deodorizer

Baking soda is basically sodium bicarbonate, a compound that is able to act as a base and as an acid.

It can therefore react with acidic and strong alkaline molecules, neutralizing them in the process to absorb odors.

In the fridge any bacteria in the food will release stinky acids or smelly basic compounds which the baking soda reacts with and reduces them to sodium salts with no odor.

Leave an open box of baking soda in the fridge as a chemical free way to deodorize it and absorb odors.

Putting baking soda in shoes will help them smell fresh, and you can even put it in your cat’s litter box to reduce pet odors.

Baking soda can also be used sprinkled on carpets or mattresses to neutralize odors.

Cleaning

As a non abrasive cleaning product baking soda can clean bathroom countertops and dirty kitchen floors without the use of harsh chemicals.

It is an affordable solution for a clean and fresh home.

Not only can you make many surfaces in your home shine with sodium bicarbonate, but you can also clean toys with it safely.

Combine with white vinegar and hot water to reduce the need to scrub bathroom countertops or when mopping dirty kitchen floors.

The combination releases carbon dioxide and is a quick solution for lifting dirt.

Swimming Pools

Sodium bicarbonate is a natural, pure way to raise the pH and alkalinity in your swimming pool.

As a rule of thumb you should add one and a half pounds of baking soda per 10,000 gallons of water to raise alkalinity by around 10 parts per million.

Laundry

The gentle cleaning power of baking soda is a simple solution for making laundry sparkle without using bleach or other harsh chemicals.

Sodium bicarbonate is a soluble salt and can dissolve stains and dirt.

Adding half a cup of baking soda to your laundry will neutralize the acid in the stains but will also soften the water.

This means that you will need to use less detergent.

Personal Care

Sodium bicarbonate can help relieve the discomfort of heartburn or upset stomach.

Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of cold water and drink slowly. You can also use baking soda for a spa worthy pedicure.

Add a few tablespoons to some warm water, drops in some of your favorite essential oil and enjoy.

As one of the most recognized brand names in baking soda the company also make a toothpaste with natural baking soda for advanced whitening.

This baking soda has a different particle size to deliver cleaning but with low abrasion.

Is All Baking Soda The Same?

Baking soda is just a name used for the compound sodium bicarbonate which can be used for hundreds of different things around the home.

However, Arm and Hammer make different types of baking soda for different applications.

The main difference is in the size of the particle of sodium bicarbonate.

For example in the fridge deodorizer the particles are large and in the toothpaste they are small.

But the baking soda sold for cooking and baking is specifically called pure baking soda to differentiate it from the other types.

Although the pure baking soda can be used for other purposes other than baking, such as cleaning, deodorizing and personal care.

The reverse is not true however, and the baking soda marketed as cleaning and deodorizing products should not be used for baking or cooking.

Final Thoughts

Sodium bicarbonate or as we know it, baking soda is an extremely versatile product with multiple uses around the home.

It can save time on cleaning, make your laundry sparkle, whiten your teeth and even maintain your pool.

Not many products can claim such a vast array of capabilities. But one of baking soda’s most important functions is as a leavening agent in baking.

Without it, we wouldn’t have light, fluffy cakes or chewy cookies.

An inexpensive and indispensable product you should never be without a large box of baking soda in your home.

Kathryn Sewell

Kathryn Sewell

Hi! I'm Kate and I have been baking and cooking for as long as I can remember. I like to share the most interesting tips and recipes I try here on What Kate Baked for you to enjoy. If you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share send it over on social.

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