Baking powder, yogurt, white vinegar, buttermilk, lemon juice and omit cream of tartar are some of the interesting cream of tartar substitute.

Have you been halfway through a recipe and discovered that you are missing out on a particular ingredient? Trust me, this happens to me quite often and I am sure there must be many like me!

Let us consider one of the most popular ingredients, i.e. cream of tartar, which is also called as potassium bitartrate. Cream of tartar is an acid, specifically tartaric acid. But what if you don’t have it in your pantry and your recipe has specifically mentioned its use? Don’t you worry, because you can simply substitute it with a number of other ingredients that you can find in your pantry. In this article, we will look at some of the best substitutes for cream of tartar. Read below to find more:

6 Best Cream of Tartar Substitute You Must Know

Baking powder

Baking powder and cream of tartar share a number of similarities. For instance, both are acidic and in powder form. Baking powder is basically made up of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and tartaric acid (cream of tartar). Not only can you use baking powder instead of cream of tartar but you can also substitute baking powder with cream of tartar.

One thing to be kept in mind is that you can only substitute cream of tartar with baking soda in those recipes that consist the use of both in it. For instance, you cannot make use of baking powder in a recipe that only makes use of cream of tartar.

Yogurt, excellent substitute for cream of tartar

This is another best substitute for cream of tartar. So, whenever you do not have a cream of tartar in your kitchen, you can choose yogurt. Not only does it have sour flavour but it is also very nutritious.

All you have to do is just add a little amount of milk to yogurt and you are done. However, you must ensure that you have to keep the quantity of other liquids to minimum since this is also in the liquid form only.

White vinegar

Now you may wonder that vinegar has a really strong smell and taste, so how will it be a substitute to cream of tartar? The reason is that vinegar is acidic in nature that produces carbon dioxide when it reacts with baking soda, which is further required to lift the batter. But you cannot use white vinegar as a substitute to cream of tartar when you are making cakes, because it may lead to a huge difference in the taste. You can use the same  amount of white vinegar as that recommended for the cream of tartar.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is basically the leftover liquid after churning and producing the butter.  You can easily find it at the nearby store or can make your own. Just like yogurt, you can store buttermilk for a pretty long time. Just make sure that you store it properly so that it does not get contaminated.

Being acidic in nature, buttermilk can be a great substitute for cream of tartar. Also, buttermilk is in the liquid form, so you will have to remove some of the other liquids in your recipe.

Lemon juice

Lemon and cream of tartar have the same level of acidity, which is why it also becomes one of the best substitutes for cream of tartar. Considering the amount, you have to use the same amount of it in the recipe, as recommended for cream of tartar.

One factor that may be a little challenging for you is the storage. Well, you can simply put it in zip lock bag and keep the same inside the refrigerator. This will allow the lemons to last longer.

Omit cream of tartar

Now suppose that you do not have any substitute of cream of tartar in your kitchen. Then, the best option is to simply omit its use. For instance, you can leave it out when you are using it to stabilize whipped egg whites.

Another example is, when you want to use it to prevent crystallization when making syrups, frosting or icing. Although, this cannot be the case with all the recipes, especially those that require a leavening agent.

Conclusion

Now that we have discussed all the best possible substitutes of cream of tartar, you also know that at times when you have none of the ingredients in your kitchen, you can simply skip on adding cream of tartar.

Believe me, you can use any of the listed substitutes and you won’t even notice the substitution because the results will almost be the same.

References

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja02103a008 – JACS

https://crushmag-online.com/handy-baking-ingredient-substitutions/ – Crush Magazine