7 Top Uses & Benefits Of Cream Of Tartar For Health, Cleaning & Cooking

Cream of tartar is a wonderful ingredients with wide uses. If you are a person who bakes a lot, you must have heard of cream of tartar. It is generally well known for it’s use in making meringues and for preventing sugar from crystallizing. I use cream of tartar to prevent sugar crystallizing in jellies and for whipping up meringues.

But cream of tartar has uses other than cooking and once you get to know them you can easily start using it in day to day life. Cream of tartar has a long shelf life so you can easily buy and store it in a cool, dry place in your pantry. But make sure it is free of moisture else it will clump.

What is Cream Of Tartar?

How is Cream Of Tartar Made?

During wine making process, when the wine is left to ferment in the barrels, a layer of residue forms at the bottom of the barrel, it can also form in wine bottles too. This residue is cream of tartar in crude form, it is then filtered and then purified to get the white powder that we see in markets.

Where To Buy Cream Of Tartar?

Cream of tartar is not easily available in India, some baking supply stores stock it regularly and even if they don’t have it in stock you can ask them to get it for you. The easiest way to purchase cream of tartar is through online shops like Amazon, you have wide choices and it is usually cheaper than ordering it through baking supply stores.

Cream Of Tartar Side Effects:  

Cream of Tartar Substitutes:

Cream Of Tartar Uses:

a. Cream of Tartar For Cleaning:

Cream of tartar is wonderful for cleaning and it can be used for removing stains from clothes to bath tubs depending on the ingredient it is mixed along with.

1. Cream of Tartar With Lemon Juice For Removing Stains From Clothing:

Cream Of Tartar : 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp
Mix both cream of tartar and lemon juice together into a paste and apply on the stain, wait for few minutes before washing it off. This recipe can be used for removing all kinds of stains from clothing.

2. Cream of Tartar With White Vinegar For Kitchen: 

Cream Of tartar: 1 tbsp
White Vinegar: 1 tbsp
Use this mixture to remove all kitchen counter top stains. It can also be used to remove stains from porcelain, clean ovens, stubborn stains in pots and pans.

3. Cream of Tartar With Hydrogen Peroxide For Bathroom:

Cream of tartar: 1 tbsp
Baking soda: 2 tbsp
Hydrogen peroxide: as required to form a thick paste.
Apply this paste on stains in bathroom sinks, tubs, kitchen sinks, let it soak for 30 minutes and then scrub and wash

b. Cream Of Tartar For Cooking:

4. Make Your Own Baking Powder: 

If you don’t have baking powder at home and have cream of tartar at and baking soda at home, you can easily mix them together and substitute it for baking powder.
Baking powder recipe:
Baking soda : 1 tsp
Cream of tartar: 2 tsp

5. For Meringues & Whipping Cream: 

Adding cream of tartar while beating egg whites helps to stabilize the egg whites and help them hold their shape well which is very essential for making meringues. We can also add it while whipping cream for decorating cakes, it will help stabilize the cream. Also adding cream of tartar to jams and jellies helps prevent sugar from crystallizing.

c. Cream For Tartar Medicinal uses:

6. Cream of Tartar For UTI: 

Though there is no clinical study to support this remedy, using cream of tartar is an age old remedy for UTI that has been followed in many countries. It is made by mixing 1 tsp of cream of tartar in 1/2 cup of water along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Drinking this mixture is said to change the pH level of the urine thus preventing bacterial infections.

7. Cream of Tartar For Constipation:

Cream of tartar has been proven through clinical research to be a good stool softener thus helping in chronic constipation. In the study, subjects were either given either 5 grams of cream of tartar separately or 120 grams of sun dried raisins (which is equivalent to 5 grams of cream of tartar). Though both proved beneficial, sun dried raisins had added benefits.

I would suggest taking dried grapes instead of straight cream of tartar for constipation. Dried grapes has cream of tartar naturally and along with it, it also provides fiber and above all it is easy to consume than consuming cream of tartar separately.