Welcome February and Groundhog Day. Hope spring comes early regardless of what happens with Punxsutawney Phil.

We took today's episode as an opportunity to bring you a little food chemistry (get the allusion in the title?) because we received a very nice email from a very nice listener who shared her experience using baking soda to calm the acidity in her tomato sauce. Thank you, Brenda!

If you haven't listened yet (then run on over to your favorite podcast site), she said she will add a pinch of baking soda to the sauce and then let it simmer for awhile, letting the acid base reaction happen and then try it again. If it is still acidic, she'll add another pinch. She said it can become "over-neutralized". Not sure what that means for taste but maybe it loses flavor at that point. Should have asked that question.

In any event, we traveled down the food chemistry rabbit hole to not only share the wonders of baking soda (there are many) but also shared several chemistry-type foundations that can help you with your cooking journey. I won't bore you with a list here but if you want one, contact us from the website, thegirlcancook.com and let us know.

This was a fun episode for us so hope you enjoy it, too. No, science is NOT boring!

You can watch us up close and unedited on YouTube @thegirlcancook or listen anywhere you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening and watching!