Wondering if your baking powder or baking soda are still active? Learn their real shelf life, how to test for freshness, and when it's probably time to replace them.

I understand that baking powder has a shelf life. Can you tell us how long it remains good? Thank you. JOE AND KAY, via e-mail It does have a shelf life, and here's how to test baking powder: Add 1 ...

Years ago, I was at a friend’s house and I wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies. When I went digging in her pantry, I found baking powder that had expired many, many years earlier. I tossed it, ...

Dear Heloise: I understand that baking powder has a shelf life, and that it can go bad. Can you tell me how long it remains good? Thank you. -- Joe and Kay, via e-mail Dear Joe and Kay: It does have a ...

At any given moment, I have at least one open box of baking soda and one open canister of baking powder in my pantry, and I never, ever know how old they are. Unlike cheese or apples, neither of these ...

Dear Heloise: I've got a problem! Sometimes my cookies, muffins, cakes and biscuits don't rise enough. I was told that there is a test for checking the freshness of baking powder. I tried this and was ...

DEAR HELOISE: I understand that baking powder has a shelf life, and that it can go bad. Can you tell me how long it remains good? — Joe and Kay, via e-mail It does have a shelf life, and here’s how to ...

Baking some last-minute holiday cookies? Be sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh and active so they can leaven the dough. Most containers are marked with "use by" dates. To test baking ...