I have gathered some information for you on the uses of cream of
tartar, and on its kosher status. Since you say this is urgent, I have
tried to put this together quickly; please let me know if I've omitted
anything that you needed to know.
"What is Cream of Tartar?
Cream of tartar is the potassium salt of tartaric acid that?s left on
the inside of wine casks once grapes have fermented.
Why is it used in baking?
It is used to stabilize and add volume to beaten egg whites in angel
food cake, meringues for pie and meringue cookies. It lends a creamier
consistency to candy and frostings. Cream of tartar can be used to
make baking powder. Simply combine 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar with
1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch to yield one
teaspoon baking powder."
McCormick: Cream of Tartar
http://www.mccormick.com/content.cfm?id=11304
"What is cream of tartar and how does it work? Its technical name is
acid potassium tartrate, and it is derived from a crystalline acid
deposited on the inside of wine barrels as the wine ferments. It is
known as an acid salt, that is, an acid that has been partially
neutralized to leave a weakly acidic salt.
Egg whites have the miraculous ability to increase their volume over
eight-fold when provided with enough energy by means of a strong arm
or a good mixer.
Mechanical energy causes strands of the protein albumin to partially
unfold and connect with one another. These interconnected albumin
strands can wrap around air bubbles and lead to foam development.
As anyone who has made egg foams can tell you, it is an imperfect art
ripe with opportunities for collapse. Cream of tartar, because of its
acidic nature, gives the cook a leg up by lowering the alkaline pH of
the egg whites from about 9 to 8. This change in pH helps neutralize
certain proteins that tend to repel each other and encourages their
association. The result is easier development of a more stable foam."
America's Test Kitchen: Food Science
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/foodscience.asp?foodscienceid=173&iSeason=4
"Question: What is Cream of Tartar? Where can you get it? What is its substitute?
BJ Says: Hi, Many thanks for being with us in the exciting world of
culinary. It is a fine white powder and is used in making candy and in
frosting for a creamier consistency. Cream of tartar is also added to
egg whites before beating to improve stability and volume. It is
easily available at grocery shops. There is not a good substitution
for cream of tartar."
Cooking with BJ: Ask BJ
http://cookingwithbj.com/bjcooking/askbj/detail.php?faqID=252
"Cream of tartar is also called potassium hydrogen tartrate, potassium
bitartrate, potassium acid tartrate, or monopotassium tartrate. It is
the potassium salt of tartaric acid. Its molecular formula is
KHC4H5O6... It is usually found as a by-product of the fermentation of
grape juice, in the bottom of wine bottles."
MadSci Network: Chemistry
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar2000/952902235.Ch.r.html
"One of the trademarks of the Star-K is that it encourages its staff
to respond to consumer kashrus inquiries. All too often, after eating
a yummy treat, a consumer will notice a seemingly questionable item
listed on the wrapper's ingredient panel. They will then call the
Star-K hotline in a frantic state because they fear they may have
eaten something non-kosher, only to learn that they most likely
mistook the ingredient for something else or that the ingredient has a
kosher counterpart. The following is a list of commonly questioned
ingredients that regularly appear on the labels of popular foods that
we eat...
Cream of Tartar is the acid potassium salt of tartaric acid. It is
created through the heating of argol, the sediment formed on the walls
of fermented wine barrels, and potassium carbonate. Cream of tartar is
a colorless crystal white powder, and it is used in baked goods,
icing, and candy."
Star-K Kosher Certification: The Secret Ingredient
http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-palate-secretingredient.htm
"Date: 3/26/2003 9:49:09 PM
Subject: Cream of Tartar on Pesach
Message: Is Cream of Tartar kosher for passover?
Reply: Yes"
Kashrut Q & A Board
http://www.kashrut.org/forum/viewpost.asp?mid=2564
Many other useful links about cream of tartar may be found with
Google's "define" search term:
Google Web Search: define: "cream of tartar"
://www.google.com/search?biw=772&hl=en&q=define%3A+%22cream+of+tartar%22
I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance with
this question before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
