BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Food · Supply

Cream of Tartar

Why cream of tartar keeps indefinitely, how to store it, the test for an old jar, how it turns baking soda into baking powder when the can is gone, and its other jobs from meringue to cleaning.

INDEFINITEBAKING POWDERMULTI-USEWorks without power

Quick facts

  • Real shelf lifeIndefinite
  • Label date says3 to 4 years
  • Best storage
    • Airtight
    • dry
    • cool
  • Watch forCaking from moisture; nothing else

Where this sits on the food shopping list

Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate, the crystalline acid that forms inside wine barrels, and as a dry acid salt it keeps indefinitely; it's on the field guide's Indefinite 15. Its first job in a food store is the one most people do not know: mixed with baking soda it's baking powder, which does not keep, made fresh from two things that do. The rest, stabilizing whipped egg whites and cream, keeping sugar syrups from crystallizing, and a cleaning paste, is on the list below.

Which to buy

Any brand; it is one chemical. Buy it in bulk from a spice supplier rather than the small supermarket jar, since a pound costs little more than an ounce and lasts for years. A pound per family is a long supply.

How long it really lasts

By how it is kept

FormLabel saysReal, stored well
Cream of tartar, sealed or opened, dry3 to 4 yearsIndefinite
Baking powder made from it, mixed dryMonths in a sealed jar; make small batches
Store-bought baking powder, for comparison6 to 12 monthsAbout a year; loses lift after
The Preparedness Food Shopping List (PDF), a one page printable PDF

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What to store, how much of it for one person for one month, and how long it keeps. One page with checkboxes, built from the Survival Foods field guide. Print it, multiply by your people and months, and take it to the store.

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How to store it

Airtight and dry, in a jar in the cupboard; moisture is the only thing that touches it, and even damp cream of tartar cakes rather than spoils. It takes a Mylar bag without an absorber like the other dry salts.

How to tell it has turned

It does not go bad. Caked cream of tartar is broken up and used. The test, if a jar is old enough to doubt: a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar and a pinch of baking soda in a tablespoon of warm water should fizz; if it does, the jar is good. (It's the soda that is more likely to have gone flat.)

Keep it

A caked jar, a jar decades old.

Discard on sight

Nothing; it does not spoil.

How much, and how to use it

Baking powder: half a teaspoon of cream of tartar plus a quarter teaspoon of baking soda equals one teaspoon of baking powder, mixed as needed, or in a batch with a quarter teaspoon of cornstarch per teaspoon to keep it dry. That is biscuits, pancakes and quick bread from the stored flour with no can of baking powder in sight. The Indefinite 15 list below adds the rest: a pinch stabilizes whipped cream and meringue, a pinch in a sugar syrup keeps it from crystallizing, and mixed to a paste with vinegar or lemon juice it scours copper, brass and aluminum and lifts rust stains. With baking soda and water it's also a play dough for the children on day four.

What else it does

  • Whipped-cream stabilizer
  • Anti-crystallization
  • Leavening w/ soda
  • Playdough

Shelf-life figures are from the Survival Foods field guide; fridge, freezer and pantry times are from the USDA cold and pantry storage charts. Run the look, smell, taste check before eating anything past its date.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

How long does cream of tartar last?

Indefinitely, against a label of 3 to 4 years, as long as it stays dry. It cakes with moisture and does not spoil.

How do I tell if cream of tartar has gone bad?

It does not. To test an old jar, a quarter teaspoon with a pinch of baking soda in warm water should fizz.

How do you make baking powder from cream of tartar?

Half a teaspoon of cream of tartar and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda equals one teaspoon of baking powder. For a batch, add a quarter teaspoon of cornstarch per teaspoon to keep it dry, and make it in small amounts.

Keep going

Read nextBaking Soda Leavening and Baking Powder SubstituteCommercial baking powder is just baking soda mixed with an acid and a stabilizer, and it loses potency within 1 to 2 years.Food · Formula

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