The third type of leavening, pearlash, was the precursor to modern baking powder. Pearlash was a purified form of potash. It was first used as a leavening agent by Native Americans and was the subject of the first patent in the United States, issued in April 1790. [17] Its preparation was time-consuming, but could be accomplished by a housewife with a cast-iron kettle: it involved soaking fireplace ashes in water to make lye, and then boiling the lye to remove water and obtain "salts". [3]

If you aren't a fan of Earl Grey tea, use any tea that you like - I sometimes use Darjeeling tea, which is also lovely. Instead of cream of tartar, modern Royal baking powder contains a mixture of Hulman's sodium aluminium sulfate and Horsford's monocalcium phosphate. [3] :187 Bakewell Baking Powder [ edit ] By the 1900s, many companies were using alum instead of cream of tartar in the creation of their baking powders because it was cheaper to produce and home bakers could use less of it in their baked goods. Ziegler began a campaign against the use of alum, calling it, “unnatural and poisonous.” He attempted to have its use banned, but only succeeded in getting the chemical removed in the state of Missouri by bribing members of the state senate. When the story broke that Zeigler had influenced the decision, the Lt. Governor John Lee fled, returning a week later. Lee, then turned evidence over to a grand jury and the state attempted to have Zeigler extradited to Missouri, but the state of New York refused and Zeigler was never tried. In America, Eben Norton Horsford, a student of Justus von Liebig, set out to create a flour fortifier and leavening agent. In 1856, he was awarded a patent for "pulverulent phosphoric acid", a process for extracting monocalcium pyrophosphate extracted from bones. Combined with baking soda, monocalcium pyrophosphate provided a double-acting form of leavening. Its initial reaction, when exposed to water, released carbon dioxide and produced dicalcium phosphate, which then reacted under heat to release second-stage carbon dioxide. [3] :36–44 [23]a b Corriher, S.O. (2008). BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes. Scribner. ISBN 9781416560838 . Retrieved 2014-10-25. Matz, Samuel A. (1992). Bakery Technology and Engineering (3ed.). Springer. pp.71–72. ISBN 9780442308551 . Retrieved 2009-08-12.

Sodium aluminium sulfate baking powders were double-acting, and much less expensive to produce than cream of tartar-based baking powders. Cooks also needed less alum-based baking powder to produce a comparable effect. As a result, alum-based baking powders were severe competition for Royal Baking Powder's cream of tartar-based products. William Ziegler of the Royal Baking Powder Company used a variety of tactics, ranging from false advertising and industrial espionage to bribery, to try to convince consumers and legislators that aluminium-based baking powders were harmful. He suggested (without actual evidence) that alum was unnatural and poisonous, while cream of tartar was natural and healthful. He attempted (and in Missouri briefly succeeded) in convincing legislators to ban aluminium compounds from use in baking powders. At the same time, he changed his own "Dr. Price" baking powder to an aluminium-based formula that cornered two-thirds of the baking powder market in the southern states. Eventually, after a number of legal and commercial battles that included bribery charges against Ziegler and a grand jury hearing, Royal lost the baking powder wars. [5] [3] :97–113 [36] Davidson, Alan; Saberi, Helen; Jaine, Tom; Davidson, Jane L. (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food (2nded.). OUP Oxford. p.55. ISBN 978-0191040726 . Retrieved 24 January 2019.

Luncheon Dishes

a b c d e f John Brodie, John Godber "Bakery Processes, Chemical Leavening Agents" in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology 2001, John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/0471238961.0308051303082114.a01.pub2 As described above, baking powder is mainly just baking soda mixed with an acid. In principle, a number of kitchen acids may be combined with baking soda to simulate commercial baking powders. Vinegar (dilute acetic acid), especially white vinegar, is also a common acidifier in baking; for example, many heirloom chocolate cake recipes call for a tablespoon or two of vinegar. [46] Where a recipe already uses buttermilk or yogurt, baking soda can be used without cream of tartar (or with less). Alternatively, lemon juice can be substituted for some of the liquid in the recipe, to provide the required acidity to activate the baking soda. The main variable with the use of these kitchen acids is the rate of leavening. Baking Powder". Fine Cooking. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009 . Retrieved 2009-03-06. The active ingredient in pearlash was potassium carbonate ( K 2 CO 3). Combining it with an acidic ingredient like sour milk or lemon juice resulted in a chemical reaction that produced carbon dioxide. [18] In the U.S., in 1866, Joseph C. Hoagland and his brother Cornelius developed a baking powder product with the help of Thomas M. Biddle. [3] :70–74 They sold a single-action baking powder containing cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and starch. Their formula became known as Royal Baking Powder. [32]