The other day, I wanted to bake some buttery biscuits to pair with my dinner. Evidence that sometimes, I can pull off the homemade gourmet meals. I gathered all the ingredients and whipped them up. When I pulled them out of the oven, they were less than impressive. Small, sunken, flat and not at all raised and fluffy. Evidence that sometimes, I completely fail at homemade, gourmet meals.

I mean, I still ate them and all, because, food. But they just weren't as delicious as they should have been. The problem? Old ingredients. My baking soda was getting stale and couldn't give the lift my poor biscuits needed. While you can definitely tell when milk or cream has turned (boy can you ever), it's harder to tell if your baking powder or soda isn't as effective as it once was.
 
To prevent this from happening again, I did a little research on how to tell if three common baking ingredients are fresh: 


1. Baking Soda: Mix 1/3 cup of hot water and 1/2 tsp of vinegar. To this, add a 1 tsp baking soda. If you see bubbles, the baking soda is still fresh.

2. Baking Powder: Add 1 tsp baking powder to 1/3 cup hot water. If you see bubbles, the baking powder is still a-ok!

3. Eggs: Place eggs in a bowl of water; your fresh eggs will sink to the bottom. If your eggs are slightly older, but still usable, they will stand on one end. Eggs that should be thrown away will float to the top. 

Do you have any baking tips or ways to tell if your ingredients are fresh? 
 
(via thecakeblog.com)