Creme de tartar?

Question

What is "creme de tartar"?

It is mentioned in a recipe for chocolate mousse I have, but I don't know what is is. Guess it is some sort of sugar product.

I probably won't find it here in Denmark either, so can I make it myself or replace it with somthing else?

Thanks for the many elaborate answers! Very helpful - more of you could be best answers.

Will choose the one that named a local product I know, because It helps me directly, though other answers was more thourough.....

Answer 1

It's not a sugar. But, it should bein the baking aisle, near the baking soda, baking powder, spices.

I don't know if this helps, but, Cream of Tartar is Tartaric Acid which is called Vinsten or Vinsyra. In Sweeden it's in a wine making supply. A squeeze of lemon juice can be substituted.

When cream of tartar is used in whipping egg whites, it acts as a stabilizer. There is no exact substitute, but you can add a pinch of salt for each 1 to 2 egg whites instead, but it has a lesser stabilizing effect.

In general, 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar = 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or distilled white wine vinegar up to 1 teaspoon. However, I never use vinegar because I don't like the subtle aftertaste it leaves in the baked good.

Normally, when cream of tartar is used in a recipe, it is used together with baking soda. The two of them combined work like single-acting baking powder. You would think a teaspoon of double acting baking powder will substitute for 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar, but it's not the same ingredient. You really need to substitute the cream of tartar with another acid, such as freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar and also add in the baking soda to make the recipe work.

Answer 2

Creme De Tartar

Answer 3

Cream of Tartar is a binding agent usually used in making meringue. It makes the egg whites more volume.
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.

Answer 4

heyhey it's cream of tartar if you add that to baking soda, then you get baking powder. Baking soda stops your food from rising after a certain degree, but cream of tartar takes it even further. Also, if you are beating egg white. For one egg white, i'd add around 1/6th teaspoon of cream of tartar, and that usually always allows me to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks.

Answer 5

The creme of tartar originally came from the the baobab tree (adensis digitata) it is a white to yellow powder and is extremely sour, but very very rich is Vitamin C. As everyone else has pointed out it is used when beating egg whites or in cake and pudding making. I hope this helps....................

Answer 6

Cream of Tartar is what it's called in the USA.. it's one of the components of baking powder. It also stabilizes whipped egg whites, which explains it being called for in an authentic mouuse recipe. Here, we can find it in the spice aisle.

Answer 7

I used this once in a recipe a long time ago. It looks like corn starch - white, sort of the same texture. I don't recall if it has taste or not, but I think it's pretty tasteless. It does serve a purpose, so you will need it - have you thought about looking in your local grocery store? They just might have it in the baking aisle, so just check it out first. Otherwise, you might be able to purchase it online. I do not believe you can make this yourself.

Answer 8

It is a chemical compound known as: Potassium bitartrate

Other names potassium hydrogen tartrate, cream of tartar, potassium acid tartrate, monopotassium tartrate

Potassium bitartrate (also potassium hydrogen tartrate) is a byproduct of winemaking. It is also known as cream of tartar. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid. Potassium bitartrate crystallises in wine casks during the fermentation of grape juice. In wines bottled before they are fully ripe, argol can precipitate on the side of the bottle in a sort of crust, thus forming what is called "crusted wine".

This crude form (known as beeswing) is collected and purified to produce the white, odorless, acidic powder used for many culinary and other household purposes.

In food, potassium bitartrate is used for:

Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume; Preventing sugar syrups from crystallising; Reducing discolouration of boiled vegetables; Frequent combination with baking soda (which needs an acid ingredient to activate it) in formulations of baking powder.

Commonly used in combination with potassium chloride in sodium-free salt substitutes.

A similar acid salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, is confused with cream of tartar due to their similar function in baking powder.

So if you can't find any, try using baking powder.

Answer 9

You can use lemon juice or vinegar (3x's the amount).