For future reference you would not add either - soda or powder - to something before canning it. Adjustments of that type are made only after the jar is opened. Persimmon butter has some potential safety issues to begin with given its borderline pH of 4.7 and the lack of tested recipes for using them. So additional acid is needed - adding orange juice is a common one, lime juice another. The acid/alkaline ingredients of baking powder or baking soda wouldn't contribute anything positive and could affect the pH negatively. So freezing it, as described, is best. Gifting these? I sure wouldn't. Dave

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 Not everything is out-of-date or dented on the clearance rack in the back of the store.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

Q. Doesn't baking soda need an acid to work? A. Yes. These ingredients/foods are commonly used with baking soda in leavening: citrus, vinegar, cranberries, rhubarb, apples, berries, apricots, orange juice, honey, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, bananas, carrots, pumpkin, molasses, cocoa and chocolate (listed in decending order from high acid - pH of 2.0 to lower acid - 6.0). Baking soda is an alkali, or a base, and it reacts with acid to make carbon dioxide. Without acid, baking soda can't properly do its job. But think of it as "lightening" the baked good because of the carbon dioxide, not just leavening, because eggs also contribute leavening. Exception to the rule (isn't there always one!): Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't contain an acid counterpart. There's still some carbon dioxide produced, just not as "lively". The baking soda that is left unnutralized can have a soapy, bitter taste. That's another reason to sift, or thoroughly mix, dry ingredients together to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the bulk of the ingredients, and to break up a soda "lump" that can remain because of the quick mixing techniques normally used on chemically-leavened baked goods. The alkalinity can also cause color changes - yellowing the pigments in flour, can accelerate browning, and alter the colors of chocolate and molasses. If the recipe also has cream of tartar in it, that's also an acid that is used to complete the reaction of the soda. -------------------- Q. Doesn't baking soda begin to react with the liquids immediately? A. The liquid ingredients cause the blending of the acid and alkali ingredients in a mixture to create a chemical reaction that makes carbon dioxide. Not just the liquid. If the acid ingredient is a liquid (sour milk, yogurt, etc.,) it is the cause of the reaction. It may take the blending of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to perform the reaction. Baking powder reacts once with the liquid, and then again with the heat from the oven (hence, double-acting baking powder). Hence - the tests for activity level of chemical leaveners. You mix soda with vinegar (a liquid acid) to test it's activity level, while baking powder only needs to be tested with hot water. --------------------- Q. Can the batter be frozen in balls if only baking soda is used, or will they go flat when later thawed and baked? A. Generally speaking, you can freeze cookie dough, even when only leavened with soda. Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't perform as well when the dough is frozen. Eggs also perform part of the leavening. -Grainlady

When I first started cooking, I didn't know that baking soda and baking powder were two different things. I thought they were interchangeable terms. The one I always had on hand was baking powder, so that's what I used whenever I made a particular recipe for chocolate chip cookies that actually called for baking soda. Everyone loved my chocolate chip cookies. I didn't learn the error of my ways until years later. You may be fine. It probably depends a lot on the particular recipe. I'm also curious to know how they turn out.