This is a question I needed the answer to. So I set out to determine just how much I'm saving every time I use baking soda in fruity desserts.
Using a small amount of baking soda in the filling for fruit pies or fruit sauces reduces the acidity of the fruit, so that less sugar is needed. I've used this little trick, off and on for about 20 years, when I first read about it in The Tightwad Gazette. But since last summer, I've been using it consistently with every batch of rhubarb (or other fruit) sauce, fruit crisps and cobblers, and fruit-filled pie.
For a fruity dessert, calling for about 4 to 6 cups of fruit and about 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, I use about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and reduce the sugar by about 1/3. This formula produces a final product almost identical to the original recipe. I actually think it tastes better, as the fruit flavor really comes through with less sugar.
As I bake with a lot of tart, homegrown fruit (rhubarb, tart berries and tart apples), for most recipes, I use about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, but save about 1/3 cup of sugar.
My cost on baking soda
According to my 16 oz. box of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon weighs 1.2 grams.
There are 378 1.2-gram servings of baking soda in a 16 oz box.
I can buy a 16 oz. box of baking soda for 50 cents on sale, or 59 cents regularly at the dollar store.
So, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda costs me between $0.00132 and $0.00156, or, a little over 1/10th of a cent.
My savings on sugar
1/3 of a cup of granulated sugar weighs approximately 2.4 ounces.
I just bought a 50-lb sack of sugar for $18.75, or 37 cents per pound.
At that price, 1/3 of a cup of granulated sugar costs me $0.056, or about 5 1/2 cents.
So, every time that I use the baking soda trick to reduce sugar in recipes, I save about 5 cents. It really does save money. I make an average of 2 fruity desserts like this per week. So, in a year, I save about $5.20. I won't get rich on these savings, but all the little savings add up to a considerably smaller grocery bill.
If you buy granulated sugar in smaller bags, you may be paying more per pound, and could potentially save much more on this trick. Whereas, my cost of baking soda is likely in the neighborhood of what you pay, as I just buy the small boxes.
The added bonuses -- the desserts actually taste better to us, and we're cutting back on our sugar consumption! Win, win!
To use baking soda in fruit desserts, mix the baking soda in with the sugar, flour and spices, before tossing with the fruit, when making a pie, crisp or a crumble. Or, for fruit sauces cooked on the stove, after cooking the fruit in water to soften, stir in the sugar, then the baking soda. You'll see the fruit sauce foam up, then slump back down.
