Leavening agent Ammonium carbonate may be used as a
leavening agent in traditional recipes, particularly those from northern Europe and Scandinavia (e.g.
Amerikaner,
Speculoos,
Tunnbröd or
Lebkuchen). It was the precursor to today's more commonly used baking powder. Originally made from ground deer horn and called hartshorn, today it is called baker's ammonia. It is prepared by the sublimation of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and calcium carbonate and occurs as a white powder or a hard, white or translucent mass. It acts as a heat activated leavening agent and breaks down into carbon dioxide (leavening), ammonia (which needs to dissipate) and water. It is sometimes combined with sodium bicarbonate double acting baking powder and to help mask any ammonia smell not baked out. It also serves as an
acidity regulator and has the
E number E503. It can be replaced with baking powder, but this may affect both the taste and texture of the finished product. Baker's ammonia should be used to create thin dry baked goods like crackers and cookies. This allows the strong ammonia smell to bake out. It should not be used to make moist baked items like cake since ammonia is hydrophilic and will leave a strong bitter taste. Its use as a leavening agent, with associated controversy, goes back centuries:
Other uses Ammonium carbonate is the main component of
smelling salts, although the commercial scale of their production is small.
Buckley's cough syrup from Canada today uses ammonium carbonate as an active ingredient intended to help relieve symptoms of bronchitis. It is also used as an
emetic. It is also found in smokeless tobacco products, and is used in aqueous solution as a photographic lens cleaning agent. It is also used as
bait for
apple maggots, to monitor the spread of the infestation and adjust the borders of the
Apple Maggot Quarantine Area in
Washington State. ==See also==