On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:18:50 -0500, yetanotherBob
> wrote:

>Unless you're on a tight budget, I would bite the bullet and buy fresh
>leaveners for important stuff that you probably don't want to be less
>than perfect. Sure, there's some waste-not-want-not and/or tightwad
>satisfaction to be had from using elderly ingredients, but is it worth
>the risk? (Not that we're talking life and death here, to be sure...)
>
>Bob
>============================
>In article >,
says...
>> I apologize if this has been discussed before. I only recently joined
>> this newsgroup.
>>
>> How does one tell whether their
>> cream of tartar
>> baking soda
>> and baking powder
>> are still fresh? Is there a test you can do? We're about to get ready
>> to bake Christmas cookies, and I don't want things to come out flat if
>> my ingredients aren't working properly.
>>
>> Thank you for any insight,
>> Bobbett
>>


I agree with Bob. Baking soda stays good forever (at least I hope so
judging by the amount I have.) I do not know about Cream of Tartar,
but the can of baking powder I just bought has an expiration date of
Feb. 2008. I always buy fresh baking powder in November for my
Christmas baking. It might be ok, but it is just about the cheapest
ingredient so why take chances.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974