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In food
Folger's Golden Gate Cream Tartar, first half of 20th century

In food, potassium bitartrate is used for:


 * Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their warmth, tolerance, and volume
 * Stabilizing whipped cream, maintaining its texture and volume
 * Anti-caking and thickening
 * Preventing sugar syrups from crystallizing by causing some of the sucrose to break down into equal parts of glucose and fructose
 * Reducing discoloration of boiled vegetables

Additionally, it is used as a component of:


 * Baking powder, as an acid ingredient to activate baking soda
 * Sodium-free salt substitutes, in combination with potassium chloride

A similar acid salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, can be confused with cream of tartar because of its common function as a component of baking powder.

Science behind baking
As an acid, cream of tartar with heat reduces sugar crystallization in invert syrups by helping to break down sucrose into its monomer components - fructose and glucose in equal parts. Preventing the formation of sugar crystals makes the syrup have a non-grainy texture, shinier and less prone to break and dry. However, a downside of relying on cream of tartar to thin out crystalline sugar confections (like fudge) is that it can be hard to get add the right amount of acid to get the desired consistency.

Cream of tartar is used as a type of acid salt that is crucial in baking powder. Upon dissolving in batter or dough, the tartaric acid that is released reacts with baking soda to form carbon dioxide that is used for leavening. Since cream of tartar is a fast-acting, it releases over 70 percent of carbon dioxide gas during mixing. It also lowers the pH of the batter, giving it a whiter crumb.