Why Soda Is Used For Cooking In Hotels?
Have you ever wondered why soda is a cooking favorite in hotels? It works wonders by tenderizing meat, making baked treats fluffy, balancing sour flavors, and adding a burst of brightness to various dishes, elevating the dining experience!
Tenderizing Meat: Sometimes, meat can be a bit tough to chew. Baking soda acts like a gentle chef’s massage for your meat. It softens the proteins in the meat, making it easier for you to enjoy a tasty and tender bite.
Creating Fluffy Baked Food: Baking soda is like a helpful assistant that makes your cakes, muffins, and cookies puff up. It does this by mixing with special ingredients in the batter, creating tiny bubbles that make your goodies grow while baking.
Balancing Sourness: Baking soda is like a superhero with a high pH power (more than 7) that can counteract acidity. When food gets too sour, it can turn your baked goodies into hard and dry disappointments. But here’s the magic: by including baking soda in recipes with a touch of acidity, like batter or dough, you can rescue them from being tough and instead make them tender and moist.
Brightening Foods: It’s like a little helper that gives rice and cauliflower an extra glow. Just think of it as a friendly magician sharing tricks – baking soda chats with the starches in these foods, making them appear super clear and totally inviting.
Why Baking soda is used for making Rice in Hotels ?
- 1. It makes the rice cook faster. The alkaline nature of baking soda raises the boiling point of water, which causes the rice to cook more quickly. This is especially helpful when cooking large quantities of rice, as it can save time.
- 2. It makes the rice fluffier. Baking soda helps to break down the starches in rice, which makes the grains more separate and fluffy. This results in a more pleasant texture and appearance for the rice.
- 3. It makes the rice whiter. Baking soda reacts with the proteins in rice to produce a whiter color. This is especially noticeable in brown rice, which can have a brownish tint when cooked without baking soda.
- 4. Other Reasons : There is some evidence to suggest that adding baking soda to rice can make you feel fuller after eating. This is because baking soda can help to increase the volume of the rice, making it seem like you are eating more. Additionally, baking soda can help to slow down the digestion of rice, which can also contribute to a feeling of fullness.
Cons of Using Soda in Foods
- • It can give Soapy taste to foods, This is not always noticeable, but it can be off-putting to some people.
- • It can reduce the nutritional value of the rice. Baking soda can bind to some of the nutrients in rice, making them less available for absorption by the body. This is especially true for thiamin, a B vitamin that is important for the nervous system.
