Cream of Tartar

Our cream of tartar is just what you need to have around in the pantry for all your baking needs. It has more uses than you might think.

What is cream of tartar?

• First of all, it's not creamy. It's a dry, powdery, acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. Its official name is potassium bitartrate, potassium hydrogen tartrate or tartaric acid (hence the commercial name). It's an acidic substance similar to lemon or vinegar.
• Its useful in bonding your ingredients together as a stabilizer. It's particularly helpful when you're dealing with a tricky recipe that tends to wilt, like meringue or a soufflé. It's a must-add to a lot of baking recipes because it also stops sugar crystals from binding together by activating the alkaline in baking soda.

Why isn't your cream of tartar organic?

• We only sell organic products but sometimes, they just don't exist or are impossible to source. This is the case with: xanthan gum, guar gum, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), cream of tartar, double action baking powder and most obviously salt.

How can products be labeled as organic if they contain conventional ingredients like cream of tartar?

• According to USDA rules (which most countries copy), if 95% of a product is made up of organic ingredients, it can be called organic.
• But you can't just add 5% of anything. The non-organic ingredients that can legally go into foods labeled as organic have to be listed in the "National List of inorganic products" that can legally go into foods labeled as organic.
• One of the key terms in the list is "commercially available". As an example organic yeast exists, we sell it but it is not considered "commercially available" as its cost is completely ridiculous. So conventional yeast is allowed in organic bread for example.