Cream of Tartar

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Filus59602

Senior Cook
Joined
Jun 16, 2002
Messages
256
Location
Montana, USA
Have you ever wondered; I know I have; where cream of tartar comes from. After all where would our meringues be without it.

Well here goes: Wine is aged in a cask and when the wine has matured and is poured out; what is left round the sides of the cask is Cream of Tartar. They just scrape if off, clean it up and Walla! there you have it.

I thought this was interesting and hope you do too!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought it was the crystalized precipitate in the casks in particular. Do they scrape out the other stuff as well?
 
Cream of tartar ( potassium bitartrate) is the crystallization in wine casks but it goes through a process of purification before it is the white acidic powder we see in the stores.
 
Other uses for Cream of Tarter of the non-food solution:

The third way to clean a burned pan is to add 2 to 3 Tbsp cream of tartar to enough water to cover the burned surface. Bring to a boil and simmer until the burned food begins to flake off from the pan.


Brighten Copper

Freshen up the copper with a paste made from cream of tartar and enough lemon juice to moisten. Rub the mixture on the copper, and let stand for five minutes. Wash in warm water and dry.
 
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