Baking soda is a white powder with a slightly salty, alkaline taste that cooks use to help baked goods rise and become fluffy. When you mix baking soda with something acidic (like lemon juice, buttermilk, or vinegar) and add heat, it creates tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles get trapped in cake batter or cookie dough, making your treats light and airy instead of dense and flat.

The chemical name for baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, but home cooks have called it baking soda for generations. It works differently than baking powder: baking soda needs an acid to activate, while baking powder already contains its own acid.

Beyond baking, people use baking soda for all sorts of tasks. It absorbs odors (try putting an open box in your refrigerator), cleans stubborn stains, and can soothe bee stings. Some people brush their teeth with it or add it to bathwater. Scientists use it in experiments, especially those spectacular volcano demonstrations where baking soda mixed with vinegar erupts in a fizzing fountain.

This versatile powder has been a kitchen staple for over 150 years, quietly doing its work in countless cookies, cakes, and pancakes.