What is tartaric acid cream of tartar

Here's what it is and how to use it in recipes, and even around the house. First of all, it's not creamy. It's a dry, powdery, acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. Its sciency name is potassium bitartrate, aka potassium hydrogen tartrate or tartaric acid hence the commercial name. But you can find it in the spice aisle labeled as plain ol' cream of tartar. In baking, this means mile-high meringue pies , melt-in-your-mouth meringue cookies , and angel food cakes that practically float off the plate.

Try this recipe: Meringue II , and learn more about making perfect meringues. It's what separates a tangy, chewy snickerdoodle from an ordinary cinnamon-coated sugar cookie.

The acid in cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their distinctive tangy flavor, and the chew happens because cream of tartar prevents sugar in the cookie dough from crystalizing into crunchiness. Try this recipe: Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles. It is ideal for the generation of carbon dioxide from baking soda. In fact, one version of baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar. When the mixture dissolves, bubbles of carbon dioxide are released.

The same chemistry can be used to keep drains clear. Just make up a mix of one cup bicarbonate, one quarter cup cream of tartar and one cup of salt for increased density and periodically pour a few spoonfuls down the drain. The bubbling action can dislodge small blockages. Candy makers also know all about cream of tartar. Candies are basically made by cooling down solutions in which a lot of sugar has been dissolved.

But this has to be done in a fashion that ensures small crystal formation otherwise the candy becomes too brittle and crunchy. Adding a small amount of cream of tartar when you are beating egg whites can speed up the formation of foam and help to stabilize the airy nature of the mixture. Therefore, we use cream of tartar in food like meringue pies, meringue cookies, and angel food cakes. In these recipes, lemon or vinegar can act as a substitute for cream of tartar. If your baking recipe calls for tartaric acid, you can use cream of tartar in roughly double the quantities.

But we do not recommend cream of tartar as a substitute for any other recipes. Furthermore, cream of tartar is also useful as a cleaning agent, especially when mixed with acidic solutions like white vinegar or lemon juice. Tartaric acid is a salt that naturally occurs in plants while cream of tartar is a crystalline acidic compound processed from the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid. Cream of tartar is a weakened form of tartaric acid; therefore, it is less acidic than tartaric acid.

Furthermore, tartaric acid has several culinary and industry uses. The culinary arts, photography, tanning, ceramics, mirror making, and medicinal remedies make use of tartaric acid.

It has an intensely sour and tart flavor, and is a primary acid in wine. Another important use of tartaric acid or potassium bitartrate is the production of cream of tartar. Cooks should be grateful, because tartaric acid is much more expensive and hard to find. Cream of tartar is basically a weakened form of tartaric acid. After tartaric acid forms, it is mixed with potassium hydroxide to neutralize the acid. This mixture results in cream of tartar, which is not actually a cream, but a crystalline powder.

Baking commonly calls for cream of tartar.