

Baking powder : Like cream of tartar, baking powder also contains tartaric acid, says Randhawa.For example, if a recipe calls for ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar, double it and use one teaspoon of lemon juice. It's also the preferred substitute for meringues, says Randhawa, as it can help to maintain those sought-after stiff peaks. Lemon juice: The acidity in lemon juice can prevent sugar from crystallizing, making it an effective substitution for cream of tartar in frosting and icing recipes.

If you don't have cream of tartar on hand, Randhawa and Lucas say there are several suitable replacements you can try using common household ingredients. The acidity in yogurt makes it a good substitute for cream of tartar. As long as it has a dry, powdery, bright white appearance and acidic smell, it's still OK to use. Quick tip: As long as you keep it in a cool, dry place, you don't have to worry about the cream of tartar going bad, according to Randhawa. To replace it, use 1 ¾ teaspoons of cream of tartar per 1 cup of buttermilk. Don't have any buttermilk on hand? Adding a dash of cream of tartar to the recipe's dry ingredients can replicate that tangy flavor. Because cream of tartar binds to sugar molecules, it can keep the sugar from turning brown - which is ideal when you're making sugar cookies and want a blank canvas for decorating. Cream of tartar helps to activate the leavening properties of baking soda, thus adding loft and a light, fluffy texture to cookies, cakes, and more. Additionally, by keeping sugar from recrystallizing, Lucas says it can produce cookies that are softer and chewier. Fortunately, cream of tartar can prevent this from happening by binding to the sugar crystals and keeping them tiny. During this process, the sugar can sometimes recrystallize, resulting in a grainy texture. Some recipes, like frosting, icing, caramel sauce, and syrups require cooking sugar down to a liquid form. When making a meringue, Lucas says a good rule of thumb is to use ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar for every egg white. Cream of tartar can help stabilize substances like egg whites and cream, which tend to lose air bubbles and collapse - it prevents those tiny pockets of air from shrinking, meaning you'll get a more voluminous result. Here are some of the most common, according to Jean-Baptiste Lucas, a pastry chef instructor in Bangkok and owner of Chef Lucas Baking Studio. The tools section may contain affiliate links to products we know and love.Cream of tartar is most commonly used in baking.Ĭream of tartar has multiple uses in baking. I tracked the nice volunteer down, got the recipe and my snickerdoodle experimentation began.

The tinny taste of the cream of tartar was intriguing but not overpowering. (I worked in politics before I became a chef, but that’s another story.) I was hesitant to eat from a stranger’s kitchen, but cookies. I first had a regular snickerdoodle when a volunteer dropped off a batch at the campaign office I was working on. Speaking of snickerdoodles (see what I did there?), my recipe for Lemon Cardamom Snickerdoodles is one of my all-time favorite cookies (besides Chocolate Chip, of course). A tiny pinch added to water also helps vegetables maintain their color when they’re blanched. It has a tinny, metallic taste that’s most noticeable in Snickerdoodle cookies. In baked goods, cream of tartar is used as a leavener, to give cakes, muffins and cookies their rise. It keeps sugar from crystallizing so it’s often used to keeps candies, frostings and meringues smooth and shiny.

It’s most commonly used in whipping egg whites a pinch will give whites increased volume and make them more stable so they’re less likely to fall. You can find it in the spice section of the grocery store.Ĭream of tartar has many cooking uses. Cream of tartar, or potassium acid tartrate if you want to get chemical about it, is a fine, white powder made by purifying and grinding the crystals that form inside wine barrels during the wine-making process It’s also an ingredient in baking powder.
