The Mess-Free Way To Get Rid Of Grease Uses A Baking Staple

Some of the tastiest things in life involve grease. Frying up some bacon. Cooking some smash burgers on a cast iron griddle. Roasting a whole chicken or pan-frying a filet of fish in some oil. All result in delicious food, and all result in leftover hot grease with nowhere to go.

Cleaning up a greasy pan can be a pain. You need to let it cool before dumping it anywhere, and if you pour it into your garbage and the garbage bag has a hole or rips? Forget it. And don't even think about pouring it down the drain — congealed grease in your pipes can cause backups, flooding, and damage that could total thousands of dollars.

Never fear, because there is a simple pantry staple that can save the day, and chances are you already have a box of it in your cabinet. It's baking soda, and it can sop up grease quickly and efficiently. TikToker @the_gooch shows how easy it is — simply pour baking soda into the pan of grease (take out the bacon first!) and stir until it thickens to a paste. Once it's cooled you can scrape that paste into the garbage without having to worry about spilling grease all over. Continue rinsing and cleaning the pan as you normally would.

Baking soda really is a kitchen hero. Introduced in 1846, NaHCO3, aka sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, is technically a type of salt that creates carbon dioxide when exposed to acid. Baking soda helped revolutionize baking by creating leavening in baked goods that until then had only been possible through the use of yeast. It is different from baking powder, which was a later invention and is used slightly differently.

Baking soda is also versatile; it can do so much more than help make fluffy, light baked goods. You can use it to wash your produce — not only is it safe for human consumption, unlike many soaps, but it can also help dissolve the protective wax added to many fruits. You can add a pinch to your mug in the morning to take the acidic bite out of coffee. And for extra crispy potatoes, boil them in water with some baking soda added first.

The next time you go to the supermarket, you might want to consider buying a few boxes of baking soda — not only is it useful in so many different ways, but now you can fry up that bacon without worrying about the cleanup!