Oooo I love this. Can you do a vid on cooking beans from dry? Soaking vs. not soaking. Salt no salt. Pressure cooking stove top? Any science behind beans, really.
I've learned that soaked beans have to be fully cooked before I can add my soaked rice. Beans cook much slower once rice is added. This could be good knowledge for one-pot or one-pan meals.
I cook dried beans probably every other day, and here's my advice: 1. If you do it often, invest in an electric pressure cooker e.g. instant pot. The time and convenience savings are large. The only drawback relative to stovetop is that with the stovetop you can test whether they are done at any point, whereas with the pressure cooker you need the time to be dialled in at least somewhat. But there are cooking time tables online for every type of bean that have worked out quite well for me. 2. Salt extends the cooking time by about 25% for me, whether soaked or unsoaked. I have experimented with whether salting the soaking water but then not the boiling water, affects that. I could not tell any difference, both resulted in an approximate 25% increase. 3. How much salt to use is a mystery to me, but I always treat it like I'm salting pasta water and that works out fine. Be conservative, you can salt the beans later if they are under salted. 4. People often say that salting beans before cooking changes the interior texture. I have not noticed this. So I would err on the side of salting them unless you are going to put them in a very salty broth or you are short on cooking time. (Or you don't trust your ability to salt them correctly.) 5. Soaking speeds up the cooking time and probably does nothing else. I have seen a lot of claims about it changing the texture, I have not experienced that at all. Soaking is a good idea if you use the stovetop because it saves a lot of time (30-60 minutes), but with a pressure cooker the time saved is small (5-15 minutes). 6. Consider cooking your beans with flavorings. toss some onion, cumin, garlic, dried mushrooms, whatever you want into the boiling water. You can also cook them in stock (though remember that this also adds salt and cook time has to be adjusted accordingly). After cooking you can remove some larger additions while the smaller ones will just disappear into mush. If you're cooking beans for a stew/gravy this is a great way to up their flavor.
@@karthiktadepalli7560 All good stuff, especially about the salt. I may wait until about 15min before the end to salt. Also, have you tried frying the soaked dry beans in aeromatics before adding hot water & boiling the rest of the way. It's my favorite way to make fried rice & beans right now.
@@EricLeafericson salting in the middle is a stovetop option so I've never tried it, but could definitely work. Frying soaked dry beans is an interesting idea, I've never done that...
Thanks for the tip about adding baking soda to choc chip cookie mix to get the cookies to brown better. Mine always come out too light and never knew why. Thanks!! Gonna try that
The best ratio for pancakes I use is 1tsp baking powder & 1 egg to every 1 cup flour, then up to 1 cup of milk or less. This works if doubling the recipe too. I don't like extra b.powder or extra baking soda as it destroys the flavour & makes the pancakes bitter. This is more noticeable as I don't use sugar or butter in the batter. So far the best pancakes are sour dough where a portion of starter is added to regular pancake batter.
I totally agree with you. It seems you understand the subject. What Do Baking Soda and Baking Powder Do? The answer is very simple for people who really can think. You can make pancakes without soda or baking powder. They still will become brown. Colour depends on how much you add sugar and how long you keep them in a pan. In this case, your pancakes will be very flat but still tasty. The baking soda you add when your mix does not contain any acidity like yoghurt or lemon juice, for example. Then you will get some bubbles and your pancake or cake with become fluffy. Backing powder already contains the acidity. In this case, if you add the backing powder in a mixture which does not contain any acidity, then your mixture will be fluffy. If you put additional soda in a mix with backing powder or the opposite it will make our mix bitter. Soda never adds flavour but only fluffiness. I do not care about colour. I care about taste. If you want to have brown colour then add a little bit of sugar. Sugar gives a brown colour and a taste. That is why I never have any backing powder in my pantry, but I always have lemon juice and bicarbonate soda. Mix them together and you will get the fluffiness of your pancake or cake.
Learning music theory allows a guitarist to experiment and be more creative instead of just sticking to written music. This is the same with “cooking theory” and you are the best teacher!!
I've got in to using yeast for my baking recently. I really like the added flavor. It just tastes more wholesome than adding baking powder. It does take some planning, though.
True! Ages ago we made traditional waffles using yeast and that tasted better than without but you are right in that it takes extra planning. Last year we started doing sourdough pancakes (and waffles too), and it was easier than the yeast version (no need to plan ahead) and maybe even tastier than with just yeast.
Baking soda toothpaste also works wonders with plaque and tartar prevention because of its alkalinity (most oral bacteria are acidophiles) - helps resist biofilm formation.
I use the americas test kitchen buttermilk pancake recipe, which has both baking powder and soda. Their ‘secret’ ingredient, though, is sour cream. 1/4 cup for a standard recipe, the pancakes brown beautifully and it makes them rise even higher (big bubbles!) and they’re just the slightest bit tangy. Amazing.
If his book ‘The Food Lab’ is anywhere near as informative as his videos it’s bound to be a gold mine. I think alot of home cooks are a little ashamed to admit they don’t know these simple things, but there’s no shame in learning. Wonderful video.
Great Video Kenji! Thank you. I love these types of culinary science pieces. You should do one of the different types of flours ie: AP, wheat, potato, rice, etc.
Am I the only one who loves thinner, chewier pancakes? In my mind those are "flapjacks" and the fluffy ones are "pancakes" but I'm pretty sure that is just head canon.
I would eat every one of these Pancakes smothered in butter and real maple syrup. But I am blown away by the explination of Chemistry involved into something so simple as PANCAKES lol
I think the main cause of confusion about baking powder vs. baking soda is a linguistic one: American English calls both of these substances "baking [something]." If we had fundamentally different names for these two fine white powders (which other English-speaking regions and other languages have), we wouldn't be so confused about them.
yeah in Australia we use the words bicarb (shortened bicarbonate of soda) and baking soda interchangably - so far as i know baking powder has always just been baking powder. If we kept baking soda as bicarb then you wouldn't run the risk of accidently putting in a ton of baking soda in haha
I rly love vids like this when it comes to cooking; it helps a ton to rly know the science side of things here and get a better idea of how these seemingly basic ingredients work, so one can better adapt their own cookin
What Do Baking Soda and Baking Powder Do? The answer is very simple for people who really can think. You can make pancakes without soda or baking powder. They still will become brown. Colour depends on how much you add sugar and how long you keep them in a pan. In this case, your pancakes will be very flat but still tasty. The baking soda you add when your mix does not contain any acidity like yoghurt or lemon juice, for example. Then you will get some bubbles and your pancake or cake with become fluffy. Backing powder already contains the acidity. In this case, if you add the backing powder in a mixture which does not contain any acidity, then your mixture will be fluffy. If you put additional soda in a mix with backing powder or the opposite it will make our mix bitter. Soda never adds flavour but only fluffiness. I do not care about colour. I care about taste. If you want to have brown colour then add a little bit of sugar. Sugar gives a brown colour and a taste. That is why I never have any backing powder in my pantry, but I always have lemon juice and bicarbonate soda. Mix them together and you will get the fluffiness of your pancake or cake.
I learned from one of the America's Test Kitchen videos that oil droplets are the cause of uneven browning on pancakes. You actually want to wipe off the oil from your pan with a paper towel if you want solid brown pancakes.
I saw that episode too! And I'd like to add since the purchase of my cast iron I haven't put oil in my skillet when I do pancakes. The first pancake is much nicer (no dotted patterns) than when I used to do it in my non-stick with oil.
Yes, it browned because he did not wipe the pan between use. Also you use baking soda with buttermilk and baking powder with fresh milk. Not sure how all that raising agent tasted.wll never know😂
Thank you so much for this episode. I really enjoy these type of educational breakdowns! Could you do a food lab series breaking down basic food science? Thank you so much kenji!
I think you missed that chemistry class about baking soda and leavening.... For the most part, that baking soda DID NOT react with acids in the regular recipe (as much as with the weak acid in the powder), but THERMAL DECOMPOSITION broke that BIcarbonate into sodium carbonate, as well as gaseous carbon dioxide (which makes a buttload of "bubbles" in the pancake), as well as water, in the form of steam (also a gas which is making bubbles), which helps rise the pancake even more. "Double acting" refers to the gas release during the liquid phase in mixing as you said, and the heat reaction, which is the same as in the baking soda decomp. But, I love it when science meets the kitchen, and I definitely plan on checking out your book! Thanks.
At what temperature does the decomposition take place? A bit off topic but I use this trick to make bagels by just using boiling water which seems to work fine. I see others going thorough this laborious process of baking the bicarbonate for hours in the oven to turn it into sodium carbonate which seems to be a wast of time and energy when boiling water does the trick. ] From experience I know that bicarbonate siting in water from 24 to 48 hours at room temp turns to carbonate on its own. In Kenjis defense(sort of) his basic recipe has buttermilk and I know for a fact that those acids directly interact with baking soda at room temp to some extent. On the other hand getting the buttermilk to baking soda ratio could be trial and error.
Me too! Both baking soda and baking powder have an impact on the flavor (can be acrid if too much is added). Kenji put a huge amount of baking powder in that last single pancake.
Love these side by side science experiment videos. One experiment I’d love to see is how much blending affects flavor. When I’m blending things, I try to add the key flavor components at the very end for a last bit of blending. My thinking is that the oxidation of the full blending process destroys the aromatic compounds of things like vanilla or certain spices
Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. So it make sense that the powder is less brown than the soda, but more brown than neither.
@J. Kenji Lopez-Alt: At 2:00, you said you added baking soda, RAISING the pH and Raising the alkalinity. Then at 2:23, you said sodium bicarbonate LOWERS the pH. WHICH IS IT? Thanks.
What amount of baking powder did you put in the 3rd batch? It seemed like ALOT-alot. Was it to highlight the characteristics of baking powder? Does it not affect taste? I usually use 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1.5 tsp baking soda in my 4 serving recipes. Is that too little?
In the UK we have strong, plain and self-raising flour. We make Yorkshire puds with plain so that they rise! Why not add a raising agent or use self-raising?
Pardon me for the completely unrelated question, but I am seeing recipes for vanilla mash now. So mashed potatoes with vanilla bean paste and sometimes mascarpone cheese. Thoughts? Any experience with this combination?
I am quite surprised he did not mention the taste difference baking powder(dont know about soda) can make. In europe at least adding too much baking powder can give pancakes a somewhat unpleasant taste. Only tried it once with a basic batter: wanted some more fluffy pancakes and added almost double the baking powder and the result looked decent but tasted pretty bad
Try adding some ricotta to the batter. It's amazing. Better yet, make your own riccota using lemon juice to curddle the cheese. It will come through in your pancakes❤
Basic stuff for everybody should know but doesn't necessarily know, this is a good explanation of demonstration. One common change would be to add oil as likely required in waffles and how does that work and change the overall outcome. ✌😎
I appreciate the demonstration, but I'm wondering if the differences between baking soda and powder would be so apparent if more practical powder/soda to pancake batter ratios were used? I know you said you added a lot of powder/soda to the batter "for the sake of exaggeration", so I assume the results shown here are indeed exaggerated beyond what you'd realistically see in actual recipes?
Only because I follow your channel, I was already aware of the powers of baking soda and powder. This is the stuff I come here to learn. Love your content @J. Kenji Lopez-Alt!
@2:21 wait so does baking soda increase or decrease pH? Because its alklaline im assuming you meant to say it increases? Because then you talk about how increased pH browns better? Not trying to be technical just trying to understand
So what I am confused about are two things... (1) is double acting baking powder worth it? I tried it but it was too metallic tasting. Perhaps a lesser qty required for double acting? (2) does this insight relate to buttermilk pancakes? Buttermilk is more acidic so does that allow more baking powder to be used, and thus netting out as more leavening? That's a guess, but what is the true rationale in this case?
So Kenji, what is the reason why the batter with baking soda (which creates a more alkaline environment in the batter) cause the pancakes to brown more?
@@KarenCurr an alkaline environment also increases the Maillard reaction, which is the browning of proteins rather than sugars. So either way, whether there are sugars or proteins present, both are browned more quickly with the addition of baking soda. I’m sure @JKenjiLopezAlt can weigh in with a more accurate answer as he literally wrote the book on the subject.
There seems to be more batter in the bowl that he added the baking powder to vs the bowl he added baking soda to. He probably just accounted for the volume of the batter. However Kevin might be on to something as well. The overall outcome is the important part though.
Hi - 2 points: 4:22 you didn't call out the amount, the quantity. _(Produce with a running script, yaa? /*grin*/)_ And then in the end, by tear comparison, you covered only 2 of the 3! Lovely stuff. Real clear! thanks
2:20 "...it's lowered the pH of it...". I know that Kenji knows this, but I just want to clarify that it has RAISED the pH of the batter. I believe that it'll increase the alkalinity a bit, but mostly it'll increase the pH. Edit: oh, a few seconds later he says that it raises the pH.
I discovered that baking soda will also remove some of the "canned taste" (maybe you'd call it a metallic taste) from canned corn and other canned vegetables. It has to soak in a baking soda solution for a few minutes, and then you have to rinse it very well. Have you heard of this, Kenji, and can you explain it?
@@tommydillsNot. It seems to make a difference. Since I get free canned food, and baking soda is cheap, I do it. Baking soda is good for a lot of things besides baking. Chemistry.
Kenji, thanks for this informative video. I like regular pancakes, but whenever I have extra sourdough starter, which is common, I like to make an overnight sourdough pancake batter. I understand that sourdough is acidic by default, so I add baking soda only and I notice that the batter reacts quite the same way as adding baking powder to a non-sourdough batter. In the case of sourdough pancakes, are there any recommendations or comments you could share regarding this same topic of baking soda vs. baking powder?
Pro tip: do not add baking soda as a topping thinking it is powdered sugar. Also pro tip, always label your bags.
Make sure you take a quick hit to test the purity before you buy a bag of powder.
Amen
Also if a recipe calls for both do not accidentally switch the amounts for both because your son will notice and retch.
@@buddhavskungfu 👃
😢😂❤
Love your conclusion about how theory empowers you to adjust recipes. This is why I got into Serious Eats and other similar cooking sources.
I’m not watching any more presenters who can’t control themselves from saying Ummm several times a minute.
I'm sure I've looked this up more than once but its never been answered so well, and with so much useful information. Sincere thanks!
Thanks!
Oooo I love this. Can you do a vid on cooking beans from dry? Soaking vs. not soaking. Salt no salt. Pressure cooking stove top? Any science behind beans, really.
I've learned that soaked beans have to be fully cooked before I can add my soaked rice. Beans cook much slower once rice is added. This could be good knowledge for one-pot or one-pan meals.
I cook dried beans probably every other day, and here's my advice:
1. If you do it often, invest in an electric pressure cooker e.g. instant pot. The time and convenience savings are large. The only drawback relative to stovetop is that with the stovetop you can test whether they are done at any point, whereas with the pressure cooker you need the time to be dialled in at least somewhat. But there are cooking time tables online for every type of bean that have worked out quite well for me.
2. Salt extends the cooking time by about 25% for me, whether soaked or unsoaked. I have experimented with whether salting the soaking water but then not the boiling water, affects that. I could not tell any difference, both resulted in an approximate 25% increase.
3. How much salt to use is a mystery to me, but I always treat it like I'm salting pasta water and that works out fine. Be conservative, you can salt the beans later if they are under salted.
4. People often say that salting beans before cooking changes the interior texture. I have not noticed this. So I would err on the side of salting them unless you are going to put them in a very salty broth or you are short on cooking time. (Or you don't trust your ability to salt them correctly.)
5. Soaking speeds up the cooking time and probably does nothing else. I have seen a lot of claims about it changing the texture, I have not experienced that at all. Soaking is a good idea if you use the stovetop because it saves a lot of time (30-60 minutes), but with a pressure cooker the time saved is small (5-15 minutes).
6. Consider cooking your beans with flavorings. toss some onion, cumin, garlic, dried mushrooms, whatever you want into the boiling water. You can also cook them in stock (though remember that this also adds salt and cook time has to be adjusted accordingly). After cooking you can remove some larger additions while the smaller ones will just disappear into mush. If you're cooking beans for a stew/gravy this is a great way to up their flavor.
@@karthiktadepalli7560 All good stuff, especially about the salt. I may wait until about 15min before the end to salt.
Also, have you tried frying the soaked dry beans in aeromatics before adding hot water & boiling the rest of the way. It's my favorite way to make fried rice & beans right now.
@@EricLeafericson salting in the middle is a stovetop option so I've never tried it, but could definitely work.
Frying soaked dry beans is an interesting idea, I've never done that...
Pyrex bowl in the oven works good
Loving The Recipe Podcast. You and Deb are a great conversational duo, and your discussions are fascinating! Thanks!
Is this podcast weekly ?
0:40 “a basic pancake”. Starting with the puns right off the bat huh
Technically the other pancakes were more basic than the basic pancake
🤯
🦇
Nice
Thanks for the tip about adding baking soda to choc chip cookie mix to get the cookies to brown better. Mine always come out too light and never knew why. Thanks!! Gonna try that
The best ratio for pancakes I use is 1tsp baking powder & 1 egg to every 1 cup flour, then up to 1 cup of milk or less. This works if doubling the recipe too. I don't like extra b.powder or extra baking soda as it destroys the flavour & makes the pancakes bitter. This is more noticeable as I don't use sugar or butter in the batter.
So far the best pancakes are sour dough where a portion of starter is added to regular pancake batter.
I totally agree with you. It seems you understand the subject. What Do Baking Soda and Baking Powder Do? The answer is very simple for people who really can think. You can make pancakes without soda or baking powder. They still will become brown. Colour depends on how much you add sugar and how long you keep them in a pan. In this case, your pancakes will be very flat but still tasty. The baking soda you add when your mix does not contain any acidity like yoghurt or lemon juice, for example. Then you will get some bubbles and your pancake or cake with become fluffy. Backing powder already contains the acidity. In this case, if you add the backing powder in a mixture which does not contain any acidity, then your mixture will be fluffy. If you put additional soda in a mix with backing powder or the opposite it will make our mix bitter. Soda never adds flavour but only fluffiness. I do not care about colour. I care about taste. If you want to have brown colour then add a little bit of sugar. Sugar gives a brown colour and a taste. That is why I never have any backing powder in my pantry, but I always have lemon juice and bicarbonate soda. Mix them together and you will get the fluffiness of your pancake or cake.
Thank you for posting !
so like a crepe right? If you haven't try doing them instead of pancakes. They are twice as fast and just as delicious.
Learning music theory allows a guitarist to experiment and be more creative instead of just sticking to written music. This is the same with “cooking theory” and you are the best teacher!!
I've got in to using yeast for my baking recently. I really like the added flavor. It just tastes more wholesome than adding baking powder.
It does take some planning, though.
That's why sourdough pancakes are so much more yummy!
I use sourdough discard a lot in pancakes just so it doesn't go to waste, but I do like it for your same reason.
Besides being delicious, yeast is full of vitamin B and minerals, right?
True! Ages ago we made traditional waffles using yeast and that tasted better than without but you are right in that it takes extra planning. Last year we started doing sourdough pancakes (and waffles too), and it was easier than the yeast version (no need to plan ahead) and maybe even tastier than with just yeast.
In fact, prior to the invention of commercial baking powder in the 1890's (or so), most pancakes were leavened with yeast.
Baking soda toothpaste also works wonders with plaque and tartar prevention because of its alkalinity (most oral bacteria are acidophiles) - helps resist biofilm formation.
I use the americas test kitchen buttermilk pancake recipe, which has both baking powder and soda. Their ‘secret’ ingredient, though, is sour cream. 1/4 cup for a standard recipe, the pancakes brown beautifully and it makes them rise even higher (big bubbles!) and they’re just the slightest bit tangy. Amazing.
Nice! Just listened to the podcast with Deb and you while mowing the yard this morning!
Excellent companion piece to the podcast! Really enjoyed some pancake talk on my commute this morning - great work as always!
Love these kinds of vids! As someone who has started cooking due to living on my own this really helps
If his book ‘The Food Lab’ is anywhere near as informative as his videos it’s bound to be a gold mine. I think alot of home cooks are a little ashamed to admit they don’t know these simple things, but there’s no shame in learning. Wonderful video.
Thanks. This was helpful and clear, if a bit waffling.
Great video and thanks for sharing but your pup got my entire attention. He was looking at you like “dude, who are you talking to?” Classic! 😂❤🐶
This perfectly explained both in plain and scientific terms how they both work and the differences, awesome work
Thank you for this video! It was fun to watch and learn exactly what each agent does.
Wow, I was just looking this up yesterday. Perfect timing. Thank you for demonstrating the differences.
I definitely like the bubbly tops. Just one caveat: don't add too *much* of either one. NOT a good flavor.
Great Video Kenji! Thank you. I love these types of culinary science pieces. You should do one of the different types of flours ie: AP, wheat, potato, rice, etc.
Am I the only one who loves thinner, chewier pancakes? In my mind those are "flapjacks" and the fluffy ones are "pancakes" but I'm pretty sure that is just head canon.
wish you should have shown the crumb structure of the one with baking soda. strange that it wasn't shown.
Thanks for sharing this video. Very helpful 👍🏾
I would eat every one of these Pancakes smothered in butter and real maple syrup.
But I am blown away by the explination of Chemistry involved into something so simple as PANCAKES lol
Explanation
@@dcwatashi Tank chu fo corecting my spelting mastake on a U Tube Coment lol
@@radicalmoderate2730U R welcome
Kenji didn't show the baking powder pancake going into the pan. Curious... #bakingpowderconspiracy
I love me some pancakes & that 2nd one browned perfectly.
What do alkaline environments do to the breakdown of what? Cells? You cut at 2:50-2:54
i was just wondering about this the other day when i made pancakes! you read my mind kenji!
I think the main cause of confusion about baking powder vs. baking soda is a linguistic one: American English calls both of these substances "baking [something]." If we had fundamentally different names for these two fine white powders (which other English-speaking regions and other languages have), we wouldn't be so confused about them.
yeah in Australia we use the words bicarb (shortened bicarbonate of soda) and baking soda interchangably - so far as i know baking powder has always just been baking powder. If we kept baking soda as bicarb then you wouldn't run the risk of accidently putting in a ton of baking soda in haha
@@tristanclearysame in sweden, bikarbonat & bakpulver
Natron and Backpulver in Germany, hard to mix up :D
I rly love vids like this when it comes to cooking; it helps a ton to rly know the science side of things here and get a better idea of how these seemingly basic ingredients work, so one can better adapt their own cookin
Please make a video thoroughly explaining the science how baking-soda makes cheaper and/or leaner cuts of meats tender and juicier after cooking. 🙂
I'm gonna show my high school foods class this on Monday! Love your videos - super informative!
What Do Baking Soda and Baking Powder Do? The answer is very simple for people who really can think. You can make pancakes without soda or baking powder. They still will become brown. Colour depends on how much you add sugar and how long you keep them in a pan. In this case, your pancakes will be very flat but still tasty. The baking soda you add when your mix does not contain any acidity like yoghurt or lemon juice, for example. Then you will get some bubbles and your pancake or cake with become fluffy. Backing powder already contains the acidity. In this case, if you add the backing powder in a mixture which does not contain any acidity, then your mixture will be fluffy. If you put additional soda in a mix with backing powder or the opposite it will make our mix bitter. Soda never adds flavour but only fluffiness. I do not care about colour. I care about taste. If you want to have brown colour then add a little bit of sugar. Sugar gives a brown colour and a taste. That is why I never have any backing powder in my pantry, but I always have lemon juice and bicarbonate soda. Mix them together and you will get the fluffiness of your pancake or cake.
Wow! I love this video! I saw your cook and I love it... I will be sending away for it soon. Thanks for all you do...
I learned from one of the America's Test Kitchen videos that oil droplets are the cause of uneven browning on pancakes. You actually want to wipe off the oil from your pan with a paper towel if you want solid brown pancakes.
I learned this from home cooking years ago ❤
Ah i did notice that a few days ago when baking pancakes. My gf wiped and got really even browning, i didnt and mine were less evenly browned
Calling captain heterogeneity (Regusea). :)
I saw that episode too! And I'd like to add since the purchase of my cast iron I haven't put oil in my skillet when I do pancakes. The first pancake is much nicer (no dotted patterns) than when I used to do it in my non-stick with oil.
Yes, it browned because he did not wipe the pan between use. Also you use baking soda with buttermilk and baking powder with fresh milk. Not sure how all that raising agent tasted.wll never know😂
I would like to hear more about the taste difference between the 2 of them and at what concentration it is altered.
Thank you so much for this episode. I really enjoy these type of educational breakdowns! Could you do a food lab series breaking down basic food science? Thank you so much kenji!
I think you missed that chemistry class about baking soda and leavening....
For the most part, that baking soda DID NOT react with acids in the regular recipe (as much as with the weak acid in the powder), but THERMAL DECOMPOSITION broke that BIcarbonate into sodium carbonate, as well as gaseous carbon dioxide (which makes a buttload of "bubbles" in the pancake), as well as water, in the form of steam (also a gas which is making bubbles), which helps rise the pancake even more.
"Double acting" refers to the gas release during the liquid phase in mixing as you said, and the heat reaction, which is the same as in the baking soda decomp.
But, I love it when science meets the kitchen, and I definitely plan on checking out your book! Thanks.
At what temperature does the decomposition take place? A bit off topic but I use this trick to make bagels by just using boiling water which seems to work fine. I see others going thorough this laborious process of baking the bicarbonate for hours in the oven to turn it into sodium carbonate which seems to be a wast of time and energy when boiling water does the trick. ]
From experience I know that bicarbonate siting in water from 24 to 48 hours at room temp turns to carbonate on its own.
In Kenjis defense(sort of) his basic recipe has buttermilk and I know for a fact that those acids directly interact with baking soda at room temp to some extent. On the other hand getting the buttermilk to baking soda ratio could be trial and error.
the video i didnt think i needed!
I've got one of those Solidteknics skillets, great cookware!
I'm curious, how do these changes impact the taste of the pancakes, if at all?
Me too! Both baking soda and baking powder have an impact on the flavor (can be acrid if too much is added). Kenji put a huge amount of baking powder in that last single pancake.
What about getting them crispy? Does one or the other do better, or is it more in the cooking method?
Love these side by side science experiment videos. One experiment I’d love to see is how much blending affects flavor. When I’m blending things, I try to add the key flavor components at the very end for a last bit of blending. My thinking is that the oxidation of the full blending process destroys the aromatic compounds of things like vanilla or certain spices
Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. So it make sense that the powder is less brown than the soda, but more brown than neither.
Great demonstration! Thank you!
Thanks I never fully understood these powders
Thanks for this and I love the kids station.
What is the taste like.......Which is a nice preference for a decent texture and tasting less salty.....
@J. Kenji Lopez-Alt: At 2:00, you said you added baking soda, RAISING the pH and Raising the alkalinity. Then at 2:23, you said sodium bicarbonate LOWERS the pH. WHICH IS IT? Thanks.
I've always wanted my pancakes a bit darker, so this great information.
2:52 breakdown of what?
What amount of baking powder did you put in the 3rd batch?
It seemed like ALOT-alot. Was it to highlight the characteristics of baking powder? Does it not affect taste?
I usually use 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1.5 tsp baking soda in my 4 serving recipes. Is that too little?
I was wondering that too!
Might you be able to tell me what deteriorates in old baking powder that makes it not work at all?
In the UK we have strong, plain and self-raising flour. We make Yorkshire puds with plain so that they rise! Why not add a raising agent or use self-raising?
Those pans seem so cool. Id love to get one, one day!
Super helpful video, Kenji. Thank you so much! Going to make a batch of cookies with this knowledge now ^_^
Pardon me for the completely unrelated question, but I am seeing recipes for vanilla mash now. So mashed potatoes with vanilla bean paste and sometimes mascarpone cheese. Thoughts? Any experience with this combination?
I see you are using an Australian Solidteknics frypan! I love using this pan, my absolute favourite 😍
I love this.
For Kenji or anyone else: What do you think is the upper limit for using baking soda, before it affects the flavour?
Was also wondering exactly this.
the baking soda/powder pancakes were mixed more than the regular batter one, wouldnt that affect the end product also
I always remember it as baking Soda = Shade for more or less browning
Baking Powder = Puffy for more or less leavening
anyone know what pan he is using here? is it cast iron?
great video kenji, thanks
Chef John taught me the wings with backing soda tip 😌 works like a charm
You have a nice collection of cookware sir. Solidteknics is good stuff.
Thank you! Great and informative video!
"We wanted to compare apples to apples."
But these are all pancakes!
The difference between powder and phawder . srsly good stuff, Ive wondered about this for some time now
I am quite surprised he did not mention the taste difference baking powder(dont know about soda) can make. In europe at least adding too much baking powder can give pancakes a somewhat unpleasant taste.
Only tried it once with a basic batter: wanted some more fluffy pancakes and added almost double the baking powder and the result looked decent but tasted pretty bad
Part of that could be the alkalinity. Alkalis tend to taste bitter.
Try adding some ricotta to the batter. It's amazing. Better yet, make your own riccota using lemon juice to curddle the cheese. It will come through in your pancakes❤
Basic stuff for everybody should know but doesn't necessarily know, this is a good explanation of demonstration.
One common change would be to add oil as likely required in waffles and how does that work and change the overall outcome.
✌😎
What kind of burner are you using in this video? Induction? Please, ty.
It is the $1500 Breville/PolyScience the Control Freak Temperature Controlled Commercial Induction Cooking System
I learn so much ..thank youuu so much God bless you more
Does adding more white sugar or brown sugar create more browning?
I appreciate the demonstration, but I'm wondering if the differences between baking soda and powder would be so apparent if more practical powder/soda to pancake batter ratios were used? I know you said you added a lot of powder/soda to the batter "for the sake of exaggeration", so I assume the results shown here are indeed exaggerated beyond what you'd realistically see in actual recipes?
Is there a difference in the weights? I’d suspect the 3rd would be the lightest, the plain one be 2nd and the one 2nd one to be the heaviest?
I love how Kenji explains “how sausage is made” for pancakes. 👍🏻
Only because I follow your channel, I was already aware of the powers of baking soda and powder. This is the stuff I come here to learn. Love your content @J. Kenji Lopez-Alt!
@2:21 wait so does baking soda increase or decrease pH? Because its alklaline im assuming you meant to say it increases? Because then you talk about how increased pH browns better? Not trying to be technical just trying to understand
I think you're correct and that he meant to say increases
Hi what happen to the pancake when you add both baking powder and baking soda to the batter?
So what I am confused about are two things...
(1) is double acting baking powder worth it? I tried it but it was too metallic tasting. Perhaps a lesser qty required for double acting?
(2) does this insight relate to buttermilk pancakes? Buttermilk is more acidic so does that allow more baking powder to be used, and thus netting out as more leavening? That's a guess, but what is the true rationale in this case?
Was the pan up to temp for the first pancake? I use an IR temp gun when I cook.
What happens if you add some vinegar to the batter, containing baking powder and baking soda?
So this holds true for most basic baked goods? Cookies, cakes, breads, biscuits, brownies, ect.? Are there any exceptions?
So Kenji, what is the reason why the batter with baking soda (which creates a more alkaline environment in the batter) cause the pancakes to brown more?
I think the alkaline environment increases caramelisation of sugars.
@@MrTurns Hm, I wonder how that would work with a low carb pancake (uses Splenda instead of sugar, and alternate flour instead of wheat)?
@@KarenCurr an alkaline environment also increases the Maillard reaction, which is the browning of proteins rather than sugars. So either way, whether there are sugars or proteins present, both are browned more quickly with the addition of baking soda. I’m sure @JKenjiLopezAlt can weigh in with a more accurate answer as he literally wrote the book on the subject.
Hmm, I would have thought that the baking soda would be the most airy since adding a liquid to it produces bubbles. ....or did I get it backwards?
All great for physical appearance but what is the difference in taste between the 3?
You are my cooking god, Kenji.
So what does the first batter has in it.
How do they effect syrup soak in and retention?
does using baking powder need to be rested??
The Breville induction top!!!! I want one sooooo bad. $$$$ as heck.
Why is so much baking powder added compared to baking soda?
my guess would be that because the powder is only partly base. its the same amount of base per batch, that just takes more powder than soda by volume
I would say because baking soda has a flavor all its own and would mess up the flavor of the pancakes.
Because baking powder is just 30%ish baking soda with an acid added in, and often some starch or other ingredients for consistency.
There seems to be more batter in the bowl that he added the baking powder to vs the bowl he added baking soda to. He probably just accounted for the volume of the batter. However Kevin might be on to something as well. The overall outcome is the important part though.
K@@tars8850
Hi - 2 points:
4:22 you didn't call out the amount, the quantity. _(Produce with a running script, yaa? /*grin*/)_
And then in the end, by tear comparison, you covered only 2 of the 3!
Lovely stuff. Real clear!
thanks
Can you add both?
2:20 "...it's lowered the pH of it...". I know that Kenji knows this, but I just want to clarify that it has RAISED the pH of the batter. I believe that it'll increase the alkalinity a bit, but mostly it'll increase the pH.
Edit: oh, a few seconds later he says that it raises the pH.
I discovered that baking soda will also remove some of the "canned taste" (maybe you'd call it a metallic taste) from canned corn and other canned vegetables. It has to soak in a baking soda solution for a few minutes, and then you have to rinse it very well. Have you heard of this, Kenji, and can you explain it?
You're insane
@@tommydillsNot. It seems to make a difference. Since I get free canned food, and baking soda is cheap, I do it. Baking soda is good for a lot of things besides baking. Chemistry.
Kenji, thanks for this informative video. I like regular pancakes, but whenever I have extra sourdough starter, which is common, I like to make an overnight sourdough pancake batter. I understand that sourdough is acidic by default, so I add baking soda only and I notice that the batter reacts quite the same way as adding baking powder to a non-sourdough batter. In the case of sourdough pancakes, are there any recommendations or comments you could share regarding this same topic of baking soda vs. baking powder?