So somehow I ended up with two jars of cream of tartar which I rarely use anyway. I was wondering with the Teeming Millions use theirs for.
I made snickerdoodles today, which is essentially the only thing I’ve ever used it for. Anyone have any suggestions?
You might never work your way through two jars of cream of tartar. I’ve never seen a recipe use more than 1/2 a teaspoon at a time.
It’s often used when to beat egg whites stiff. Maybe you could find some merengue recipes?
I spoke too soon. The first recipe on this page calls for a whopping two teaspoons.
You’ll still have the two jars for life. I suggest you name them 
Use it to make baking powder. Make it as you need it, as it does not store well.
Per Joy of Cooking: for 1 tsp use 1/4 tsp baking soda plus 5/8 tsp cream of tartar
Rodale’s: 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/4 tsp cornstarch
Mmm! Snickerdoodles!
Well, the jars ain’t that big! The snickerdoodle recipe called for 2tsp so I’m well on my way. Seems from that site that it’s pretty much limited to desserts. I’ll have to look into this meringues and angel food stuff.
I think there are some other spices, etc in my cabinet that are less used than cream of tartar, but there aren’t many.
Monster Cookies
1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup rice krispies (I use more like 2 cups)
1/2 cup coconut
One 12 oz pkg. chocolate chips (I use mini chips or those semi-sweet mini M&M’s)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and cream of tartar. Mix with a fork or whisk.
Blend margarine, oil, egg, vanilla and sugars. It should be smooth.
Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture and blend. Do not overbeat.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Dough will be kind of crumbly.
Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depends on size of cookie)
Cool a little while on the cookie sheet before removing or they’ll fall apart.
I have cream of tartar in my cupboard because my biscuit recipe calls for it. I’m not feeling inclined to type it at the moment. (and it only calls for half a teaspoon or so).
Make homemade play dough! “The Best Play DOugh Recipe Ever” calls for 1/2 cup of cream of tartar!! They even have a section of helpful hints to make buying cream of tartar more economical. Have fun!
The best cleaner for stained bathtubs, toilets, etc.–Scrub with a paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide.
Playdough:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cream of tartar
Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Cook over low heat only until play dough is longer sticky. Allow to cool before storing in an air tight container. Food colouring can be added if desired.
Cream of tartar also adds the tang to tartar sauce. Mix a quarter cup of mayo with a few tablespoons of sweet green relish (to taste), a dash of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of Cream of tartar; serve with fish sticks, or fried fish, or whatever other seafood you wish.
Two jars is a lot, though. I just recently bought the second jar I’ve ever had since Mrs. U and I were married (20 years). Mithril’s suggestion isn’t too far-fetched. 
I found something for you at:
http://www.mccormick.com/pressdisplay.cfm?ID=10641
It also includes the definition, which gave me a surprise:
“Cream of tartar is the potassium salt of tartaric acid that’s left on the inside of wine casks once grapes have fermented.”
:eek:
Yeah, you didn’t know that? Cream of tartar is a wine by-product. And why, might I ask, does it deserve a :eek: ? There are far grosser things you are eating, I’m sure of it. (Hot dogs come to mind…)
Where’s this snickerdoodle recipe that’s been mentioned? I didn’t see it on the McCormick site …
Books on natural cleaning mention using cream of tartar to clean porcelean, remove alkali stains from clothing (rust, collar, and that big bugaboo grass) and (since it contains alpha-hydroy acids) as a face scrub. Make a paste and scrub away.
Rats, I wanted to be the one to post the Play-Dough recipe. I have one that’s slightly different, so I’ll post it anyway.
2 cups flour
1 cup table salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring or one packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid
Mix dry ingredients well in a medium pot, add water and oil and stir well over medium heat till everything comes together. Remove from the heat, dump into a large Ziploc baggie and let it cool for a while. Knead in the Ziploc bag for about 10-15 minutes.
I’m a preschool teacher and I go through a LOT of cream of tartar. I make a new batch of play-dough every week. Sometimes I make two batches and let the kids mix it to make a new color (Red and blue to make purple, or red and yellow to make orange). Sometimes we add glitter. They love that. Sparkly play-dough is cool!