bicarbonate

Everyday

1. Short for bicarbonate of soda (also called baking soda or sodium bicarbonate), a white powder used in cooking and cleaning. tree →
2. (science) A chemical salt containing the group HCO3; in the body it helps keep blood at the right acid level. tree →

In the lessons

In cooking, bicarbonate of soda makes cakes rise because it gives off carbon dioxide bubbles. In science lessons it fizzes with vinegar in the classic «volcano» experiment. It is also used to clean and remove smells, and to ease indigestion.

Examples

• Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the cake mix. tree →
• We mixed bicarbonate and vinegar to make our volcano erupt. tree →
• Bicarbonate of soda can clean a dirty oven. tree →
• The fizz is carbon dioxide gas made by the bicarbonate. tree →
• Mum keeps a box of bicarbonate in the fridge to stop smells. tree →
• Baking soda is another name for bicarbonate of soda. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable in cooking. UK: bicarbonate of soda or «bicarb»; US: baking soda. Do not confuse with baking powder, which already contains an acid. Do not eat it by the spoonful.