LECTURES AND ESSAYS READ AT INSTITUTES. 201 



are mingled iu nature and in the process of mauvifacttire, sift as many times 

 as you please. And the last reason is the carbonic acid is liberated from the 

 baking powder too quickly to answer the purpose. Just as soon as the flour 

 and baking powder mixture is moistened tlie carbonic acid gas is liberated, 

 and be as expeditious as we may in wetting up the material much of the gas 

 escapes. On the contrary the process by fermentation takes place after the 

 Hour is wet up and the whole of the starch does not undergo conversion at the 

 same time but rather in a succession of molecules. 



"Can't we make our own baking powder at home better than we can buy 

 it?" If yon should ask that question of the Domestic Economy Department 

 of any of our weekly papers they would answer "yes," and proceed immedi- 

 ately to give you "an excellent recipe." Ordinary baking powder is made 

 of cream tartar and bicarbonate of soda united in such proportions that they 

 will exactly neutralize each other — liberating all the carbonic acid which the 

 soda contains, and leaving no excess of cream tartar to make biscuit or cake 

 s^ur, nor any soda to make it alkaline. United with these two materials is 

 'Usually from 10 to 35 per cent of rice flour or corn-starch to keep them 

 slightly separated and prevent the absorption oi water and consequent weak- 

 ening of the powder. If the materials used are both chemically pure the fol- 

 lowing formula will be correct: Sixty-nine parts cream tartar, 31 parts soda, 

 10 parts rice flour. But neither the cream tartar or soda obtainable at drug 

 stores is always chemically pure and of uniform strength. How much weaker 

 than the absolutely pure article cannot be told, as it varies greatly; so much 

 -so that an analysis is generally necessary to determine the correct proportions 

 to be used. A good way is to buy of a responsible grocer and take well known 

 brands, declining steadfastly chances in tea sets and dinner services if you want 

 baking powder. In this connection I may call attention to the excessive and 

 unscientific use of soda as indulged in by many house-keepers. 



To impress the district school teacher who "boards 'round" with the high 

 <|uality of his boarding place, it is usual to place before him some hot biscuit 

 of extra quality, in the composition of which the case knife of the hostess 

 lias been four times heaped with soda, to the intense yellowness of the result- 

 ing biscuit. The acid used to liberate the carbonic acid from the soda, being 

 the never failing "cup of sour milk," into which the soda is plunged, and 

 and then beaten for two or three minutes, so as to make the biscuits extra 

 «ice for the teacher, allowing in this manner about half of the valuable car- 

 bonic acid gas to escape before the addition of the flour, and the wetting up 

 process completes the material ready for the oven. 



The error of the cooks of to-day, in most farm houses, is too much soda — 

 and too little discrimination in its use. The evil is also encouraged in many 

 instances, by the recipes in the papers, giving directions frequently for using 

 from two to three teaspoonfuls of soda, where much less would be suflicieut. 

 Of course, if there is enough sour milk used to neutralize the soda, the evil 

 is not great ; but the tendency is to use too small an amount of sour milk, and 

 too great an amount of soda. The strength of the fl.cid of sour milk varies 

 ■enormously — because of the judgment of the cook. What is called very sour 

 to one, will be only "just a little turned" to another, so that the strength 

 of a "cup of sour milk" may be represented, usually by the mathematical X 

 — -denoting unknown quantity. A safe rule is to use one small teaspoonful of 

 good soda to the quart of flour. It will, when skillfully neutralized with 

 either cream tartar or sour milk, furnish sufficient carbonic acid gas to make 

 the flour abundantly light. 



