What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder?

As an older homemaker, I was recently asked, what was the difference between baking powder and baking soda. I could only answer that one of the two makes a mixture rise and I'm not sure that was right.
Darlene 5/1/2000

	Vocabulary
	sodium bicarbonate tartaric acid

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. It will not make cake rise. Baking powder is a mixture of tartaric acid and baking soda. When water is added, the acid and bicarbonate combine to make a salt and carbonic acid. The carbonic acid decomposes to water and carbon dioxide gas. The gas causes cakes to rise. PW

Author: Peter Wepplo pwepplo@monmouth.edu

Copyright © 1997-2005 by Fred Senese
Comments & questions to fsenese@frostburg.edu
Last Revised 07/31/07.URL: http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/baking-soda-vs-baking-powder.shtml