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Baking Soda Dos and Don'ts
November 09, 2026

Baking Soda Dos and Don'ts

Hi!,

Baking season is here. Of course, baking soda is one of the main ingredients which is also a very cheap item at home. It is used in many different things. We may have a newsletter 2 years ago about baking soda. After that, I had many experiences to learn more about this ingredient. Believe it or not, this amazing item makes your life much easier in multiple ways even when its expiration date past due.

Sounds very interesting, huh? We will cover all of that together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tip/Idea

Amazing Things Baking Soda Can Do

Holiday season is coming. If you plan to bake, make sure to check the expiration date of the baking soda and baking powder. Don’t use the expired ones in your baking. You will be very disappointed.

But wait...don't throw the expired baking soda away!!! I will strongly encourage you to save it. They still have a powerful way to do many wonders inside your house:

1) Clean your dishes with burned food at the bottom of the pans and plates. Thanksgiving may have plenty of dishes, pots and pans to wash after dinner. There will be many of them having food stuck at the bottom. Soak them into warm soapy water and sprinkle a teaspoon or so of (expired) baking soda into the mixture for a few minutes to overnight. This will loosen up the burned food.

2) Get rid of food smell. You know we sometimes like to cook with plenty of garlic and onion or some other strong flavored foods. It may leave some very strong smell on your cookware. (I don't mind most of the time. But when I use the same pan to cook from one cuisine to another, I definitely want to enjoy the pure fragrance and flavor of what is served instead of mixing everything together.) Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda on the cookware and clean it according to manufacturer's instructions.

3) Clean clothes. You know there are clothes with some awful odor. It is stinky really bad, right? Follow the instructions of your washing machine to put in detergent and fabric softener. Add a tablespoon of (expired) baking soda onto the clothes. Let the cycle run a little bit longer to rinse off all the baking soda. You will be surprised how awesome the result is.

Fun Culture

Does This Baking Soda Tip Apply to All?

Chinese has been using baking soda to tenderize the meat, especially beef. What I experienced a few months ago, I learned that this does not apply to all meats.

At the time, I was developing a recipe, Coconut Chili Lime Chicken and Cabbage (click here for recipe) . So, I added in about half a teaspoon of baking soda with the other seasoning. The meat was not tender as expected. The texture was about the same as without the baking soda. The negative effect was the flavor and the fragrance of the seasoning was knocked down a few levels due to baking soda.

In short, using baking soda to tenderize the meat is only for beef. That was the reason why Chinese never uses it on other different meats.

(Click here for MORE Subscriber Exclusive Fun Culture and Recipes related to this newsletter)

Featuring Recipe

No-Towel Pumpkin Roll

I made this dessert countless time. I can't tell you how many times I failed because the baking soda expired. Thankfully, instead of throwing it away, I was able to cover up the cracks and other flaws. But with every ingredient right, you can make a cake roll like a pro. If you had not tried to make any cake roll yet, I highly recommend you to start with this one.

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Until next month,
Janny

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