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Genius Uses for Baking Soda You Never Knew

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Gourmandize
Reduces Bitterness In Tomato Sauce 8/12

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Reduces Bitterness In Tomato Sauce

Baking soda helps neutralize acidity, which makes it useful for reducing bitterness in cooked tomatoes. Add 1/4 tsp for every 1 cup of tomato sauce, and taste to see if it's working. Add more baking soda as needed, but be careful not to add too much. 

If you grow your own tomatoes at home, one trick to make them sweeter is to add baking soda to the soil of your tomato plants. 1/4 tsp per plant is sufficient. This will help lower the pH levels, and you'll end up with sweeter-tasting tomatoes that will need less balancing in your recipes. 


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Ingredients

  • 2 large water or soda bottles (empty)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 4 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Ready 2 large plastic bottles, cleaned and dried.
  3. Add 1 cup of flour to each bottle.
  4. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to each.
  5. Melt butter, then add equal halves to each bottle.
  6. Add 6 eggs, 3 in each.
  7. Add 1/2 tbsp of baking powder to each.
  8. Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream to each.
  9. Shake the bottles thoroughly until the contents are well mixed.
  10. In one of the bottles only, add the cocoa powder.
  11. Beginning with the cocoa powder mixture, add a dolop of batter to the center of a circular
  12. baking tin. Do the same with the other mixture, placing the dolop directly in the center of the previous one.
  13. Continue with alternating additions of each mixture until all batter is used and the tin is full.
  14. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  15. Serve and enjoy!