# Does Cream of Tartar go off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892 "2006-12-20T05:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/1 "2006-12-20T05:49:55Z")
I’m about to make some snickerdoodle cookies from a recipe that calls for cream of tartar. Thing is, the cream of tarter we have in the house is the same jar that we got in 1984. Spring, 1984, as if that makes a difference. It’s still a white powdery substance, and it’s not caked in the least, if that means anything. I haven’t tasted it for acidity, largely because I wouldn’t know what to expect wrt potency vs depletion. Anybody know what the shelf life of this stuff is? For the record, I’ve got plenty of baking powder in the pantry, of a far more recent vintage. If the recipe calls for 2 tsp cream of tartar and 1 tsp of baking soda, would a can of Clabber Girl (or Calumet) be formulated correctly for 1 Tbsp to make it right? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/2 "2006-12-20T10:14:39Z")
I have no idea what the shelf life is - but 1984? Come on - it can’t be that expensive to buy, so I personally would toss it. On the subject…I once decided to make a lemon meringue pie while I was living in Germany…good luck at finding cream of tartar for the meringue…so I looked it up in a German dictionary (“doppelteweinsteinsauere” if I remember correctly) and it was only sold in pharmacies. I went and bought a packet and they pharmacist said, “you want to use this to bake something?!” You would have thought I was buying Viagra to make bread rise. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/3 "2006-12-20T12:03:40Z")
Cream of tartar is Tartaric Acid in crystal form. It’s a pure chemical and as likely to go off as salt. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/4 "2006-12-20T15:11:13Z")
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=272669) is a thread I started a while back about Cream of Tartar. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/5 "2006-12-20T15:36:19Z")
Shelf life? Different people think different things - some websites say it has an indefinite shelf life - as long as it’s stored away from heat and kept tightly closed. Another web site said a year. Me? I’d use it. I’ve used a ten + year old bottle to make meringues and they came out fine. The substitution? I have no idea. [This kinda gives you an answer.](http://www.skweezer.net/ask/skweeze.aspx?i=1&q=http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/CreamTartar.htm) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cream-of-tartar-go-off/384892/6 "2006-12-20T23:47:42Z")
Thanks, all, for the responses. Well, I gave it a taste after all, and it tastes acidic, so I’m guessing the stuff is still usable. OTOH, I’m still flashing on some of the responses in the “How White-Bread Are You?” thread from last month, and **DMark** ’s remark kind of clarified for me that I might as well buy a new jar. I’m sendng these to Michaela’s school for fifth graders to share, not to the Ripley’s “_Believe It Or Not_” museum.