Cream of Tartar

Cream of Tartar is also called tartar powder or tartaric acid and it is dispensed by nature in a variety of fruits but it most commonly obtained as a part of the wine-making process. The tartar crystallizes in wine casks during the course of the fermentation of grapes. The crystals are then collected and purified to produce the odorless, white, acidic powder. The resulting product has a variety of uses in the kitchen but the most common is in the stabilization of egg whites (when the eggs are added to meringues for pies) by increasing their volume and heat tolerance, reducing discolorization of boiled vegetables, preventing syrups from crystallizing and some folks even use it to clean their copper cookware.