The author was interested in looking over several hundred cooky recipes
sent in from all over the United States for a magazine cooking contest in
1927. The surprising thing about them was the length of time some of the
recipes must have been used by, or handed down to, a family, for great
numbers of them called for leavening agents in common use years ago.
There were many that called for baking ammonia, frequently with no
definite proportions, for the recipe would state to use three or five cents
worth of ammonia.
Baking ammonia is in rather coarse crystals as it is obtained at the
drug store, and therefore produces better results if dissolved in the liquid
before it is added to the dough.
Sour milk. The use of sour milk and soda to produce carbon dioxide
gas in baked products antedates the use of baking powder. As the acidity
of the milk varies with Its age and degree of sourness, the amount of soda
needed to neutralize the acidity will vary. Some recipes call for more
soda than is needed to neutralize the acid of the milk, thus an excess is
left that forms sodium carbonate with its resulting bad after-taste and
yellow color. This is probably the reason that many present-day house-
keepers do not like to use It. Then some cooks do not learn to vary the
proportion of soda to use with the milk.
Slightly sour or "bllnky" milk will combine with very little soda, but
very sour milk will require a larger quantity. An average amount for
ordinary sour milk is ^ teaspoon of soda per cup of sour milk. This pro-
duces gas equivalent to the amount produced by about 2 teaspoons of
baking powder. As this does not always produce as porous a texture as
is desired, some baking powder may also be added. It is preferable from the
color and the flavor obtained in baked and steamed batters to use too little
soda to neutralize the acid in the milk, rather than an excess. In fact, sour
milk can be used In muffins, biscuits, and cakes with baking powder and
no soda, with far less perceptible taste than when excess soda Is used.
Many recipes state in the directions to dissolve the soda in a small
amount of water. This seems to hold over from the days when soda like
CREAM OF TARTAR 449
the baking ammonia was coarse and not finely powdered, and the solution
in water prevented the formation of brown spots. This is a good method
if the soda is added directly to the batter, for it tends to lump in the
package. But finely powdered soda such as is used at the present time may
be sifted with the flour, though it is true that different brands may differ
in fineness of division.
Some recipes state to mix the soda with the sour milk or molasses before
combining with the other ingredients. This is not a good practise since gas
begins to evolve as soon as the two are mixed and thus a large portion of
the gas is useless as a leavening agent.
Page 366
Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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The author was interested in looking over several hundred cooky recipes
sent in from all over the United States for a magazine cooking contest in
1927. The surprising thing about them was the length of time some of the
recipes must have been used by, or handed down to, a family, for great
numbers of them called for leavening agents in common use years ago.
There were many that called for baking ammonia, frequently with no
definite proportions, for the recipe would state to use three or five cents
worth of ammonia.
Baking ammonia is in rather coarse crystals as it is obtained at the
drug store, and therefore produces better results if dissolved in the liquid
before it is added to the dough.
Sour milk. The use of sour milk and soda to produce carbon dioxide
gas in baked products antedates the use of baking powder. As the acidity
of the milk varies with Its age and degree of sourness, the amount of soda
needed to neutralize the acidity will vary. Some recipes call for more
soda than is needed to neutralize the acid of the milk, thus an excess is
left that forms sodium carbonate with its resulting bad after-taste and
yellow color. This is probably the reason that many present-day house-
keepers do not like to use It. Then some cooks do not learn to vary the
proportion of soda to use with the milk.
Slightly sour or "bllnky" milk will combine with very little soda, but
very sour milk will require a larger quantity. An average amount for
ordinary sour milk is ^ teaspoon of soda per cup of sour milk. This pro-
duces gas equivalent to the amount produced by about 2 teaspoons of
baking powder. As this does not always produce as porous a texture as
is desired, some baking powder may also be added. It is preferable from the
color and the flavor obtained in baked and steamed batters to use too little
soda to neutralize the acid in the milk, rather than an excess. In fact, sour
milk can be used In muffins, biscuits, and cakes with baking powder and
no soda, with far less perceptible taste than when excess soda Is used.
Many recipes state in the directions to dissolve the soda in a small
amount of water. This seems to hold over from the days when soda like
CREAM OF TARTAR 449
the baking ammonia was coarse and not finely powdered, and the solution
in water prevented the formation of brown spots. This is a good method
if the soda is added directly to the batter, for it tends to lump in the
package. But finely powdered soda such as is used at the present time may
be sifted with the flour, though it is true that different brands may differ
in fineness of division.
Some recipes state to mix the soda with the sour milk or molasses before
combining with the other ingredients. This is not a good practise since gas
begins to evolve as soon as the two are mixed and thus a large portion of
the gas is useless as a leavening agent.