Did you know that mixing Baking Powder and vinegar creates a chemical reaction? In a container with a narrow mouth, it can even produce surprising eruptions!

Baking Powder

Baking powder contains baking soda. It is a mixture of baking soda, cream of tartar (a dry acid), and sometimes cornstarch. These days, most baking powder sold is double-acting. This means that the first leavening occurs when baking powder gets wet—like when you combine the dry and wet ingredients in the recipe. (This is why you cannot prepare some batters ahead of time to bake later—because the baking powder has already been activated.) The second leavening occurs when the baking powder is heated.

Vinegar

Vinegar results from the fermentation of sugars to ethanol, alcohol, and ethanol to acetic acid. The alcohol-free end product can be made out of several different ingredients, which is why a wide variety of vinegar is available at the supermarket. Wine was the first ingredient to produce vinegar, derived from the Old French word vinaigre, meaning sour wine. It is a dilute solution of acetic acid in water. Acetic acid is also known as ethanoic acid, with the formula CH3COOH.

Reaction

When vinegar and baking soda are mixed, hydrogen ions in the vinegar react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda. This initial reaction results in two new chemicals: carbonic acid and sodium acetate.

The second reaction is a decomposition reaction. The carbonic acid formed from the first reaction immediately begins to decompose into water and carbon dioxide gas.

Like carbon dioxide bubbles in a carbonated drink, the carbon dioxide (formed as the carbonic acid decomposed) rises to the top of the mixture. This creates the bubbles and foam you see when you mix baking soda and vinegar.

This reaction is a typical one used in cooking and increases pies, cookies, and various other cooked products. The reaction occurs when the baking grain and white vinegar react all together, creating salt and water.

The above two ingredients are ubiquitous food ingredients at home, but even if you feel curious, you must pay attention to safety. Be careful not to get it into your eyes or clothes.