Here’s Why You Should Never Add Baking Soda to Cooking Water

There’s a certain allure to kitchen hacks—those little tricks that promise to save time, improve flavor, or elevate your cooking to gourmet status. One such idea that’s been floating around for ages is adding baking soda to cooking water. Proponents claim it softens food, preserves color, or speeds up the process. But while it sounds like a miracle fix, this practice might do more harm than good.

The Myth of Tender Beans and Bright Veggies

The idea of adding baking soda to cooking water comes from its alkaline nature. Advocates believe it can soften tough legumes like beans and chickpeas, or keep green vegetables vibrantly colored. While it’s true that baking soda can influence texture and color, the results are far from ideal. In fact, overly soft beans turn mushy and bland, while green veggies can end up tasting bitter or metallic. That “perfect” texture and color come at the cost of flavor—and sometimes nutrition.

Nutritional Sabotage in Disguise

One of the lesser-known consequences of using baking soda is how it impacts the nutritional value of your food. Vitamins, particularly vitamin C and some B vitamins, are sensitive to alkaline environments. Adding baking soda to water accelerates their breakdown, leaving your veggies less nutritious. So, while your broccoli might look greener, it’s actually less healthy—a classic case of form over function.

A Taste You’ll Regret

Baking soda doesn’t just change the chemistry of your cooking water; it changes the flavor of your food, too. The mild alkaline taste may be undetectable in small doses, but it can easily overpower delicate flavors, leaving your dishes tasting off. From metallic beans to flat-tasting spinach, baking soda’s effect on flavor is a gamble most cooks wouldn’t knowingly take.

When Soft Becomes Slime

The dream of tender beans and silky greens often turns into a nightmare of slimy textures. Baking soda can break down cell walls too aggressively, turning your lentils, peas, or leafy greens into an unappetizing mush. While this might work for a baby food puree, it’s hardly the goal for most recipes. Balance and precision are key in cooking—qualities baking soda completely ignores.

Why Grandma’s Pot of Water Worked Just Fine

If your grandma’s beans were perfectly tender without a pinch of baking soda, there’s a reason for that. Proper cooking techniques—like soaking beans overnight, using fresh ingredients, and controlling heat—are far more reliable and flavorful methods. Patience in the kitchen often trumps shortcuts, and avoiding baking soda means preserving the natural taste and quality of your food.