Marketing

It is interesting to me how we can be drawn in by the marketing ploys of advertisers.  If they say it is good for us, it must be.  If they say I will lose "x" amount of weight; I'm sure I will.  If they say my hair will be shiner; I'm sure it will.  The list goes on and on.  So who do you believe?  Sometimes they make it so confusing, because sometimes they don't even know what their product will do.  Case in point.  I buy baking soda and keep a box in my fridge to keep it smelling fresh; because they tell me it will do that.  See.

They are even kind enough to tell me that for best results I should change out the box, every 3 months and provide me with a little spot to write in the date when I need to replace it.  These people are so helpful that way.  But wait.  It is time to replace the box, so I buy a new box.

Hello, what happened to 3 months, now you are telling me to change it out every 30 days.  Really people.  What we weren't buying your soda fast enough.  So what the next time I buy a new box are you going to tell me I need to change it weekly.  Seriously people, who are you trying to kid.

So I did some homework on the soda subject and this is what I found out:

First, a bit of background on the stuff. Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is about four times stronger that baking powder and is used in recipes with an acidic ingredient like sour cream, buttermilk, and chocolate. Baking soda neutralizes the acids in the recipe and gives you a tender crumb, along with some leavening. This is why, you should whisk your dry ingredients together so that your baking soda is evenly distributed throughout, or you can end up with large holes.

Generally, baking soda does have an indefinite shelf live, but it does lose it's effectiveness over time. A way to check that is to mix 1/4 tsp baking soda with 2 tsp of vinegar, and see if it bubbles immediately. If it does, you are good to go!

The best way to store your baking soda is in a sealed container. An open box on the shelf allows it to absorb all the lovely odors around it, which might not be what you want.  So if you are using it in your refrigerator and you have a peculiarly smelly refrigerator you may need to change out the box more frequently or just toss out the smelly stuff.  Either way I think I will stick with the 3 month plan.  It has always worked for me in the past!