What is Cream of Tartar and Why Do Cooks Use It?
If you are a baker or candy maker you probably have cream of tartar on hand. Cream of tartar is a stabilising ingredient for recipes that contain beaten eggs. What is cream of tartar? The Spice House Website defines it as a white powder derived from wine casks. It is made from the natural crust, or sludge, that accumulates on the inside of wine casks. Though this sounds like a tall tale, I know it is true. Years ago my husband and I visited wineries in the Napa Valley of California. One guide told us cream of tartar was a by-product of the wine industry. Iranians were making cream of tartar 7,000 years ago, according to the O Chef Website. Centuries later, Alfred Bird, a British chemist, invented baking powder by combining baking soda, cream of tartar, and a moisture absorber, usually cornstarch. This information comes from “History of Baking Powder,” an article on the What’s Cooking America Website. Apparently Bird invented baking powder so he could “make yeast-free bread for his wife
