Dan thanks for info on tartar, best wishes Richard
On 21/09/2006, at 19:17, Dan Nave wrote:
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 6:45 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: CS>Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD
i stopped at our local pathmark, to pick up some cream of tartar to
try,, found it in the spice aisle, in an tiny jar, (maybe 2 or 3
teaspoon jar),, for about 5 dollars,, is this the same stuff, if so
this would be quite costly,, ,, and yes i know , if it works , it
would be so cheap in the long run,, just want to make sure i am
getting the right stuff,,, because, i also seen cream of tartar, in
the mayonaise aisle , for a fraction of the cost..... thanks to
all, geo.
http://www.ochef.com/933.htm
http://www.kalyx.com/store/prodpage.cfm
http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/319259.0/
CategoryID/12500.0/SubCatID/30.0/file.htm
$11.58 per pound
Q. Please tell me what cream of tartar is and where I can find it?
A. Cream of tartar is is the common name for potassium hydrogen
tartrate, an acid salt that has a number of uses in cooking. Now,
before you get all jittery about the thought of cooking with an
acid, it's worth noting that milk, brown sugar, steak, plums, and
just about every other food we eat is acidic. In fact, egg whites
and baking soda are the only non-acidic (alkaline) foods we have.
Cream of tartar is obtained when tartaric acid is half neutralized
with potassium hydroxide, transforming it into a salt. Grapes are
the only significant natural source of tartaric acid, and cream of
tartar is a obtained from sediment produced in the process of
making wine. (The journal Nature reported some years ago that
traces of calcium tartrate found in a pottery jar in the ruins of a
village in northern Iran are evidence that wine was being made more
than 7,000 years ago.)
Cream of tartar is best known in our kitchens for helping stabilize
and give more volume to beaten egg whites. It is the acidic
ingredient in some brands of baking powder. It is also used to
produce a creamier texture in sugary desserts such as candy and
frosting. It is used commercially in some soft drinks, candies,
bakery products, gelatin desserts, and photography products. Cream
of tartar can also be used to clean brass and copper cookware.
If you are beating eggs whites and don't have cream of tartar, you
can substitute white vinegar (in the same ratio as cream of tartar,
generally 1/8 teaspoon per egg white). It is a little more
problematic to find a substitute for cream of tartar in baking
projects. White vinegar or lemon juice, in the ratio of 3 times the
amount of cream of tartar called for, will provide the right amount
of acid for most recipes. But that amount of liquid may cause other
problems in the recipe, and bakers have found that cakes made with
vinegar or lemon juice have a coarser grain and are more prone to
shrinking than those made with cream of tartar.
Now, if they were making cream of tarter 7,000 years ago in Iran
(or at least if cream of tartar was making itself), don't you think
you can find the small plastic or glass bottles it comes in among
the hundreds of other small jars and bottles in the spice section
of your grocery store? Or you can get modest or huge quantities of
it online.
