in eggless,milkless,butterless baking, who does some recipes call for white vinegar?

Question

ok, I know, it is a dumb question... but we dont have much on the way of eggs, no baking powder,and we have little sugar. Some of the recipes I have looked at call for white vinegar. Why? what does the vinegar do for the recipe? Butter we have and milk we have, but what relation does the vinegar have in the way of no eggs and no milk and no butter? serious answers only,and if you are a chef/ or in the food indistry and know what you are talking about, you get the ten points. i am tired of looking at recipe sites and seeing the white vinegar. and no, we dont have vinegar. Can i substitute lemon juice?

Answer 1

The vinegar hearkens back to elementary school days of volcano making. The vinegar, which is an acid, acts with the baking powder, which is a base, to create carbon dioxide (which, in the volcano comes frothing over the side in a frenzy of bubbles). This is the leavening (rising) agent in the recipes you're looking up, as yeast releasing CO2 would be the leavening agent for a typical bread dough. In answer to your question, yes, you can substitute any acid for the vinegar... citrus juice, liquor, etc.

Unfortunately, I can see from your list that you're short on baking powder, but at least you know what the vinegar is for :)

Happy Cooking!