In my house people would eat them anyway. I have learned the lesson of checking the date on the baking powder a few too many times.

Everyone right now, check the date on your baking powder!

And put a tsp in some hot water to see if it fizzes. It's still good, if it does.

Even the "culls", bread that hasn't risen fully, or collapsed, or is in a funny shape, muffins with flat tops, biscuits that aren't as light and airy as they should be....all get eaten with gusto by my hubby.

This post was edited by jasdip on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 11:55

jasdip, your husband sounds like how my daddy was. He'd eat anything that mom would cook! FUNNY! :)

I wish, but my kids seem to expect "this is so good!" every time I cook. When it's less than mediocre I'm left with trying to figure out how to re-imagine the flops. Baking is not my forte, but I'm trying to change that and expand my repertoire.

Maybe I'll do a gratin and crumble a couple on top. I can probably con DH into eating one or two.

How about passing them off as "crispy bread wheels' with a dinner salad.

I bought a new jar of baking powder last week. I scoured the container (plastic jar) looking for a best before date and there is none.

Thanks for the laugh westelle! I just looked at them and "wheel" is an apt description! The slight loft they had fresh from the oven is gone. They're going to need a LOT of butter.

Mine said 2011, so you know how much I baked until recently.

Chop them up, see how much egg and cream they absorb, maybe add some herbs and cayenne to the mix, put in a casserole dish, sprinkle with a bit more cheese and bake. Just thinking aloud. Maybe that would be terrible, but it sounds pretty good to me. Have a bottle of hot sauce on the table.

You could test the expired baking powder to see if it's actually the culprit, because old flour can also be the problem.

How to test baking powder: place 1/2 t. baking powder in a small bowl and pour 1/4 c. hot tap water over it. The more bubbling activity there is, the fresher it is. If there isn't sufficient activity, it's time for new baking powder. The use-by date doesn't automatically mean it's not active, but the test does.

If you leave your baking powder open for a prolonged period of time in a hot/humid kitchen, the moisture will actually activate the baking powder and diminish the potency even before the use-by date.

-Grainlady

Ah, well baking powder doesn't have a chance on the Gulf Coast! Hot and humid accounts for about 8 months of the year - even with A/C. It could be the flour, too. I'll use new stuff next time.

FOAS, that idea may work. I'll try a small helping tomorrow! I just hate to throw out food.

Can one refrigerate baking powder to keep it useful?

Donna

Donna, this is on the Clabber Girl site

Q. How do I store my baking powder, baking soda or corn starch? Can I refrigerate or freeze?
A. Baking powder, soda or cornstarch should be stored in a dry cupboard away from heat and excess moisture. You should only measure with a dry utensil and replace the lid promptly after each use. Storage in a refrigerator or freezer is not recommended, as the condensation that can accumulate will make the powder react in the can, rendering it useless.

Q. What is the shelf Life of Baking Powder
A. For optimum performance, the shelf life of properly stored baking powder can be 6 months to a year after it has been opened. The best-if-used-by date on the bottom of the can is the useful date of an unopened can of baking powder. Once the can is opened, moisture in the air will cause the baking powder to react slowly, releasing some of its leavening ability over a period of time. Many people prefer to change their baking powder every 3 months to ensure freshness.

I date my lid with a sharpie when i take the foil top off. Mine says 4-13 so i should think to get another. It is near empty anywho. Just buy the smallest container if you have humidity problems. Mine does fit inside a wide mouth ball jar, so you could set it inside with some rice around it if you don't want to put rice in the container. Saving pill inserts is a good idea.

My vacation home is seaside so i have a list and pack fresh spices and such every year. A pain but no way around it. Just use some empty containers i have saved rather than buy new.

I open newly purchased containers of baking powder, especially when I find a great bargain and purchase several of them, and put the baking powder in canning jars and vacuum-seal them shut with my FoodSaver and the jar attachment for long-term storage in our basement food storage room.

I recently opened a jar with a use-by date of Oct. 2012. I tested it when I opened it and it produced a lot of activity. I've done this for long-term storage since the mid-80's and have never had a problem with baking powder as long as I've vacuum-sealed it. Once open, I'll refill an old baking powder can about half-full to use in my kitchen, and vacuum-seal the remaining amount again until needed.

Oxygen-free storage has a great advantage for all kinds of dry-goods, as well as proper temperature control for all storage foods including chemical leavening products like baking powder and baking soda. I purchase baking soda in 12-pound bags from Sam's Club and vacuum-seal it in canning jars, as well.

-Grainlady

Mine says Sep 24. That's it. No year. So either it died last September or has seven months to go. Considering how often I use it, it probably died five years ago. I'll try the "bubbling test" next time. It should be sold in smaller cans.

I suppose you could make your own .

Here is a link that might be useful: Interesting article

OK - I couldn't resist doing my own food science experiment. I happen to have two containers of baking powder (Argo brand in a plastic container stored in the fridge since I bought them). I knew I was running low so I bought a new one a couple of weeks ago.

I put one teaspoon of the open BP in a 1/4 cup hot water. It bubbled quite nicely. DH said "Wow, what are you doing with the bubbly stuff?"

I put one teaspoon of the new BP in a 1/4 cup hot water. It bubbled. More than the open container and did have bigger bubbles. But not enough for DH to say "Wow" words.

I really had no idea how old my baking powder was. Until I looked at the bottom of the container.

Open - Use by 9/16/2011.
New - Use by 3/15/2015.

Think I'll keep on keepin' mine in the fridge. Seems to be working for me.

You can dry those discs and make bread crumbs. My husband bakes all of our bread and we always have some that is a little stale (his bread gets stale in just a few days). We always save it and make bread crumbs.

Ok, tonight's re-invention was toasting the crumbles with a fair share of butter to top my shrimp/sausage/cheesy grits dinner. Everybody liked them today :) DH even "cleaned" the pan up for me.

I bought a small can of baking powder today, and will try the biscuits again. I didn't even test my old stuff. I noticed several little clumps that I had to break up between my fingers and didn't want to do that every time.

At least I know how to test it, for future reference!

Baking Powder is so cheap...I think most of us can afford a $2 purchase per year...HAHA!

Baking Powder is so cheap...I think most of us can afford a $2 purchase per year...HAHA!

My Christmas gift from DH was a new wallet with a Velcro closure, and I really love it. He did tell me, "Well, I figured you'd like it. It screams when you open it."

malna-

That's too funny (LOL). I'll never hear the rip of Velcro without thinking about your wallet.

A. I would never pay full price for baking powder (and nearly everything else come to think about it). It will eventually be on sale - usually in the fall before the holidays when most baking ingredients go on sale. On my tight budget, every cent counts - A LOT!

B. The last 3 containers I purchased were 78-cents each and were on the discount shelf at the store just before Christmas. The gal stocking it said they were extras that didn't fit on the shelf when they were restocking, and they didn't want to put them in back-stock, so they reduced them. Happy me!!! This happens a lot at our little grocery store. Not everything is out-of-date or dented on the clearance rack in the back of the store.

-Grainlady

Well if you are going to spend all the money to make a dish that requires you use BP and you use some old dead BP, you certainly aren't being very frugal when you end up throwing it in the garbage now are you?

There is a HUGE difference between "old" baking powder and "inactive" baking powder. Not all "old" (past the use-by date) baking powder is inactive and that's why it's important to test baking powder (and baking soda) - especially if you don't use it very often or live where there is high humidity - as well as making sure it is stored properly to begin with.

There are two things that activate double-acting baking powder - heat and moisture. Eliminate exposure to those and it will remain active for much longer than the use-by or best-by date.

-Grainlady