BAKING POWDERS. 563 



CONSUMPTION OF BAKING-POWDERS. 



The quantity of the different chemical preparations made and con- 

 sumed under the name of "baking-powders," "yeast-powders," etc., in 

 the United States can not be stated with any degree of accuracy ; neither 

 the Statistical Division of this Department nor the Bureau of Statistics of 

 the Treasury was able to give any information whatever upon this sub- 

 ject. Mr. F. N. Barrett, editor of the "American Grocer," advised me 

 that the New York Tartar Company would probably be best able to 

 give something of an idea, at least, of the amount produced. A letter 

 of inquiry sent to this firm elicited the following response : 



DEAR SIR: Your note of inquiry of the 22d instant was received in due course of 

 mail. We have delayed reply thereto because of the difficulty of securing with any de- 

 gree of reliability the information you seek. We believe that no one can give a cor- 

 rect estimate of the quantity of baking-powder annually consumed iu the United 

 States, but we are led to conclude from rather careful consideration that it amounts 

 to between 50,000,000 and 75,000,000 pounds. Of this quantity probably two-thirds 

 is made from cream of tartar, and the residue from phosphate and alum. 

 - Very respectfully, 



NEW YORK TARTAR COMPANY. 



This woujd seem rather a high estimate, implying as it does an an- 

 nual average consumption of a pound each by every man, woman, and 

 child in the country. Probably few persons would suppose that it 

 reached such a figure. Taking the price per pound at 50 cents, which 

 is about the maximum retail price charged the consumer, together with 

 the lower of the two figures given above, we would have $25,000,000 as 

 the amount annually paid by consumers for this one article. 



Granting that the above is somewhat of an overestimate, there can 

 be little doubt that no other article which enters into the composition 

 of food stuffs, and which is not of itself a nutrient, is the subject of so 

 great an expenditure. 



The consumption of baking-powders does not seem to have become 

 so extensive iu Europe as in the United States, judging from the very 

 small amount of attention bestowed upon the subject in works on food. 

 Jago 1 makes but slight mention of their use. Doubtless the American 

 people eat more largely of preparations of breadstuffs which are baked 

 quickly, such as rolls, buns, etc. 



In view of the large quantity of these preparations now consumed, 

 and a lack of knowledge amongst most people concerning their compo- 

 sition and the chemical reactions that occur in their use, I have thought 

 it proper to give a somewhat detailed exposition of the principles in- 

 volved, and to endeavor to explain, even to the non-scientific reader, 

 how these powders are made, and how they act. 



1 Op. cit. 



