It is a cheap, safe, readily available mild acid.聽聽It is ideal for the generation of carbon dioxide from baking soda.聽聽In fact, one version of baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar.聽聽When the mixture dissolves, bubbles of carbon dioxide are released.聽聽The same chemistry can be used to keep drains clear.聽聽Just make up a mix of one cup bicarbonate, one quarter cup cream of tartar and one cup of salt (for increased density) and periodically pour a few spoonfuls down the drain.聽聽The bubbling action can dislodge small blockages.
Candy makers also know all about cream of tartar.聽聽Candies are basically made by cooling down solutions in which a lot of sugar has been dissolved.聽聽But this has to be done in a fashion that ensures small crystal formation otherwise the candy becomes too brittle and crunchy.聽If a small amount of cream of tartar is added, some of the sucrose is hydrolyzed to glucose and fructose which are less likely to form large crystals.
There is something else that cream of tartar can interfere with.聽聽Protein molecules joining to each other.聽聽That鈥檚 just what happens when we whip egg whites to make meringue.聽聽Coiled proteins unwind and link up in a rigid three-dimensional network.聽聽Sometimes, however, the proteins form too many links to each other and overcoagulation results.聽聽This causes the meringue to be lumpy.聽聽The addition of cream of tartar limits the extent to which proteins can bond to each other.聽聽So it is a pastry chef鈥檚 beloved friend.
If that still isn鈥檛 enough to make you appreciate cream of tartar, how about its cleaning abilities?聽聽A blackened aluminum pot will shine like new if you boil water with two spoonfuls of cream of tartar per liter in it.聽聽Finally, cream of tartar complexes iron so it will even take rust stains out of fabrics and the bathtub.聽聽Obviously no household should be without it.
