5 Great Unexpected Uses for Baking Soda

Baking soda has all sorts of uses in the kitchen, but these "5 Great Unexpected Uses for Baking Soda" may just surprise you. We forget sometimes just how much we use that little box of baking soda in the cupboard, for all sorts of things from cooking to cleaning. The following is just a few more of the magical things this inexpensive ingredient we always have on hand in the cupboard will help us to do.

For starters, did you know that baking soda can help you peel your hard boiled eggs more easily? Apparently one of the reasons boiled eggs may be difficult to peel has a little something to do with their PH levels. Egg whites are low in pH, which in turn causes them to cling more tightly to their shells. Adding a little baking soda to the water will raise the eggs alkalinity, and its pH, which will make it easier to peel when complete.

Baking soda can be a great addition when it comes time to cleaning certain things. You might want to consider it next time it comest to cleaning your grill. Baking soda will help take off that caked on food and make it easier to clean due to its slightly abrasive and mildly alkaline properties, which can help to dissolve the dirt and grease more easier than soap alone. To clean your barbecue grill first remove the grate from the grill and then use a brush to scrub with a paste made of baking soda and a little water and rinse.

Most of us have added baking soda to a recipe at some point. But did you know that baking soda can help to make more cakelike cookies. Bakers around the world have long sought to create the best chocolate chip cookie with the perfect texture. One thing we know is that baking soda rises when heated which helps the cookies to puff up, rather than spread. So if you like fluffy, cakelike cookies add a little more baking soda to help your cookie recipe. Baking soda can also help to speed up the caramelization process of onions, so it doesn't take quite as long to do. All you have to do is add a little bit of baking soda to the onions, and because baking soda is alkaline it will raise the onions PH and speed up the browning.

Baking soda can also help to de-stink hands. While garlic and onions help to make many foods taste better, their smell can often linger on your fingers for way too long. You can get rid of the smell by rubbing some baking soda between your hands, then rinsing. You can also add a little soap to the mix if you'd like. Baking soda deodorizes by neutralizing both acids and bases. What things do you use baking soda for?

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