Soda bread published containing a recipe for Soda Cake. In Europe, soda breads began to appear in the mid-19th century when bicarbonate of soda first became available for use as a raising agent. Breads, griddle cakes and scones with bicarbonate of soda, plus cream of tartar or tartaric acid became popular in Austria, Britain, Ireland and Poland. Traditional soda bread, eaten in Serbian cuisine, also uses bicarbonate of soda, particularly the traditional "česnica" (Serbian Cyrillic: Чесница), a soda bread made at Christmas. In Ireland, the flour is typically made from soft wheat, so soda bread is best made with a cake or
Sodium bicarbonate washing with about 6 ounces (170 g) of baking soda in 2 gallons (7.5 l) of water will help to wash it out. Sodium bicarbonate is an amphoteric compound. Aqueous solutions are very mildly alkaline due to the formation of carbonic acid and hydroxide ion: Sodium bicarbonate can be used as a wash to remove any acidic impurities from a "crude" liquid, producing a purer sample. Reaction of sodium bicarbonate and an acid produces a salt and carbonic acid, which readily decomposes to carbon dioxide and water: Sodium bicarbonate reacts with acetic acid (found in vinegar), producing sodium acetate, water,