Question

The constituent present in baking powder is:
A. sodium benzoate
B. acetic acid
C. sodium lactate
D. tartaric acid

Answer 1

Hint: We know that a mixture of sodium bicarbonates, acid salts and other bicarbonates is termed as baking powder. It is mainly used for baking cakes, cookies etc. It is known by the chemical formula ${\rm{NaHC}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}}$.

Complete step by step answer:

Let’s understand baking powder in detail. The production of baking powder is done by reacting acid with an alkali. The baking acids namely phosphates, tartarates or sodium aluminium sulphate are used in combination or used alone. The baking powders sold commercially are composed of sodium bicarbonate along with one or many salts which produce acidic reaction on dissolving in solvents. Two constituents of baking powder are sodium hydrogen carbonate and tartaric acid.
So, from the given options tartaric acid is the constituent present in baking powder.

Hence, the correct answer is option D, that is, tartaric acid.

Additional Information:

The difference between baking soda and baking powder are,

Baking soda	Baking powder
1)It has only one constituent, that is, sodium bicarbonate	1)It has acid salts and bicarbonates as constituents
2)It undergoes reaction with acids immediately	2)Its reaction with acids is not immediate
3)It does not contain monocalcium phosphate	3)It has monocalcium phosphate
4)When it is used in baking, products formed are not fluffy	4)It gives product which are fluffy

Note:
If only sodium hydrogen carbonate (baking soda) is used in baking of cake, then due to heat, formation of sodium carbonate occurs that results in a bitter taste to the cake. If baking powder is used along with baking soda, tartaric acid present in baking soda undergoes reaction with the sodium carbonate and neutralizes it. Also, the sodium tartrate salt produced due to the neutralization reaction adds a pleasant taste to the cake.