While staying at my grandparents’ house last weekend, I was craving pancakes—until I opened the baking cupboard and found a jar of baking soda with a label from the early 2000s. Could it still work?

If you've gone to all the trouble of baking a homemade cake or batch of cookies, only to find they came out flat or dense, your leavening agent might be to blame. While baking powder and baking soda ...

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 ...

I understand that baking powder has a shelf life, and that it can go bad. 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 ...

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 ...