Please Nairalanders, what is the difference between baking soda and baking powder[color=#770077][/color]

They are both leavening agents, the slight difference is explained below.

Baking soda is a pure leavening agent. It needs to be mixed with moisture and an acidic ingredient for the necessary chemical reaction to take place to make food rise. Because it needs an acid to create the rising quality, it is often used in recipes where there is already an acidic ingredient present, such as lemon juice, chocolate, buttermilk or honey.

Baking powder, which contains bicarbonate of soda, comes pre-mixed with the acidic ingredient for you – so all you need to add is the moisture. The acidic ingredient most often used in baking powder is cream of tartar. You can make your own baking powder: simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part bicarbonate of soda. Baking powder has a neutral taste and is often used in recipes that have other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk.

Thank You

A useful non culinary baking soda tip that I discovered online recently: mix some baking soda with your regular toothpaste and brush regularly with it to remove stubborn dental plaque; you'll be pleasantly surprised to find it'll save you some expensive dentist visits! (Note: it has to be pure sodium bicarbonate (soda), not baking powder).