Just got back from the grocery store. Among the things I needed to pick up was baking powder, since I’ll be making muffins this weekend. All they had were large 1 lb. cans. That’s a lot of baking powder…
Now, from what I hear, baking powder can go stale and no longer work. (You’re supposed to test it by putting it in hot water or something…?)
jeremy evil said to keep it in the freezer. Will this keep the baking powder from losing its effectiveness? What’s the average shelf life for baking powder?
Hm… I’ve never kept baking powder in the freezer, nor do I remember mom ever doing so, and we’ve definitely had it around for a while and it worked fine.
I can’t give you a difinitive answer, just anecdotal experience.
Baking powder goes bad because moisture gets into it and causes the premature release of carbon dioxide gas. It should be fine at room temperature as long as you keep it tightly sealed. However, humidity from the air will get in each time you open the container, so it might make sense for you to store most of it sealed in the freezer, and only keep out 4oz. or so in a “working” container. Unless you live in a very humid clime, the stuff at room temp should last 6 months or more.
All the cookbooks I have seem to say that if you simply store it in a dry place, tightly sealed (as air-tight a container as possible). Moisture is pretty much the biggest killer of baking powder. If you store it well, it should be good a year or more from now.
Sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar. When moisture is added, the tartar forms an acid which reacts with the baking soda, forming bubbles which makes whatever you’re cooking rise. If what you’re making already has an acidic substance in it, usually only baking soda is called for, since your acid (beit lemon juice or whatever) will act as cream of tartar would.
