What Is a Substitute for Cream of Tartar?
QUICK ANSWER
The best cream of tartar substitute depends on the use. For stabilizing egg whites or whipped cream: 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar per 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar. For leavening: replace cream of tartar plus baking soda combinations with baking powder (1.5 tsp per teaspoon of cream of tartar).
Cream of tartar is a dry acid that does two jobs in baking: it stabilizes egg whites when whipping (giving stiffer peaks) and it reacts with baking soda to create leavening. The right substitute depends on which job the recipe needs filled.
What's the best cream of tartar substitute for stabilizing egg whites?
For meringues, angel food cake, or any recipe where you're whipping egg whites: use 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar per 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Add the liquid acid directly to the egg whites before whipping. The acidity helps the whites form stable peaks just like cream of tartar. This works because cream of tartar is tartaric acid, and the substitute acids (citric in lemon juice, acetic in vinegar) play the same role in stabilizing the egg white foam. The flavor change is minimal in meringue, more noticeable in angel food cake.
What if the recipe uses cream of tartar plus baking soda for leavening?
Cream of tartar plus baking soda is essentially homemade baking powder. To substitute, replace both with baking powder: use 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder for every 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar (and remove the baking soda the recipe calls for). This works because commercial baking powder is a pre-mixed blend of baking soda and an acid (often cream of tartar). Using baking powder directly skips the need to combine the two separately. The leavening effect is the same.
What about snickerdoodles or other cookies that need cream of tartar?
Snickerdoodles get their distinctive tangy flavor from cream of tartar. The substitute (1.5 tsp baking powder for 1 tsp cream of tartar + 1/2 tsp baking soda) gives a similar texture but loses some of the tangy taste. For closer flavor, add a small amount of acidic ingredient like 1 teaspoon of lemon juice along with the baking powder. The result won't be quite as tangy as the original, but it gets closer than baking powder alone.
When does the cream of tartar substitute fail?
For preventing sugar crystallization in candy-making (caramel, fudge), cream of tartar's specific acidity is hard to replace. Lemon juice helps but doesn't have the same effect at the candy-making temperatures. For specific royal icing recipes that need cream of tartar to stiffen, the substitute (lemon juice or vinegar) works but the icing may be slightly less stable. For snickerdoodles, the substitute changes the flavor noticeably. For most other baking, the substitute works without issues.
Cream of tartar substitute by use: lemon juice or vinegar (2 tsp per 1 tsp) for stabilizing egg whites, baking powder (1.5 tsp per 1 tsp) for leavening combinations with baking soda. Snickerdoodles lose some tang with the substitute but the texture stays close.
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