What is soap water

The fifteenth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar is our Chinese annual traditional festival: Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a relatively important festival besides the Spring Festival. Usually on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives from other places will try their best to rush back home to reunite with their families and share the joy of the festival. But some people cannot make it back due to some things, and can only hope that "the bright moon can send our love to you thousands of miles away". Speaking of the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone will think of moon cakes. Speaking of moon cakes, some people will inevitably mention lye water.

In fact, when it comes to soap water, many people may feel unfamiliar with it, and some people don’t even know what it is used for. In fact, lye water is an auxiliary material used in making mooncakes, and it can also be said to be an additive. So, what exactly is lye water? Let's introduce it in detail below.

When preparing the dough for Cantonese-style mooncakes, a substance called "lye water" is often added. Lye water is a common traditional ingredient in Cantonese pastries. Our ancestors boiled wood ash and water and soaked it for a day, then took the supernatant to obtain an alkaline solution with a pH value of 12.6. The main components of wood ash are potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. "Soap water" or "edible soap water" is a compound additive and is not included in the new version of the food additive usage standards.

The role of lye water: In the processing of moon cakes: When kneading the dough, add an appropriate amount of lye water, which has the following functions:

① Neutralize the acid in the invert sugar syrup to prevent the mooncakes from becoming sour and affecting their taste.

②Control the speed of oil return and adjust the softness and hardness of the crust.

③ Make the alkalinity (PH value) of the mooncakes reach a level that is easy to color.

④ When lye water and acid are neutralized, C0 gas is produced, which can make the mooncake expand moderately and have a loose texture.

However, if too much lye water is added, the finished product will appear dark in color and easily burnt, the crust will rot after baking, and the oil recovery will be affected. If too little lye water is added, the cake will have difficulty coloring during baking, and milky white spots or wrinkles will appear on the edges of the cake after it is cooked, resulting in a poor appearance.

Lye water is a common traditional ingredient in Cantonese pastries. Our ancestors boiled wood ash and water and soaked it for a day, then took the supernatant to obtain an alkaline solution with a pH value of 12.6. The main components of wood ash are potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. In the absence of modern chemical alkali in history, people had to use this traditional method of preparing plant alkali.

Preparation of soap water:

Recipe 1: 50g pure alkali powder, 15g water, mix overnight and filter before use;

Recipe 2: 25 kilograms of pure alkali powder, 20 grams of burned alkali, 80 kilograms of boiling water, and 0.9 kilograms of baking soda. Mix all well and it is ready to use. If alkali is not needed, use 75 kilograms of water. Alkali makes the baked mooncakes red, so it can be added during the mixing process.

Through the above introduction, everyone can clearly understand the item called lye water and also understand the function of lye water. In fact, to some extent, lye water is also a kind of "alkali". It is mainly used to neutralize the acidic substances in the mooncakes when making them, so that the mooncakes can be delicious. However, it cannot be put too much, otherwise it will damage the quality of the mooncakes.