Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-11-07
OFFICIAL FOOD TESTS.
The United states and Canadian Gov
ernments Analyze the Baking Pow
AsAHS
From Chicago Tribune.

The public is always responsive
to suggestions about the food it
eats. Great interest has been taken
in the investigations made by the
United States and Canadian gov
ernments and blythe different boards
of health to show the purity or i'm
purity of milk, baking powders,
spices, and other articles of daily
use in the culinary departments Of
our households.
Just now the subject of baking
powder is claiming public attention.
We all desire pure and wholesome
bread, and this cannot be had with
the use of impure or poisonous ba-
king powder. There can be no
longer any question that all the
cheaper lower grades of baking
powders contain either alum, lime
or phosphate acid.
The official analysis by the Uni
ted States and Canadian govern
ments have therefore been studied
with interest and have pretty clear
ly established the facts upon this
subject. The United States govern
ment report gives the names of
eighteen well-known powders, some
of them advertised as pure cream
of tartar baking powders, that con-
tain alum.
The report shows that the Royal
baking powder was found the high
est in leavening strength, evolving
1906 cubic inches of gas per single
ounce of powder. There were eight
other brands of cream of tartar
powders tested, and their average
strength was Ills cubic inches of
gas per ounce of powder.
The Canadian government inves-
legations were of a still larger num-
Der of powders. The Royal baking
powder was here also shown the
purest and highest in strength, con-
tanning 1892 cubic inches of leav-
ening gas per ounce of powder.
Nine other cream of tartar powders
were tested, their average strength
being reported to be SO cubic inches
of gas per ounce.
These figures are very instructive
1.-THE practical house-keeper. They
indicate that the Royal baking pow
der goes more than 33 per cent.
further in use than the others, or is
one-third more economical. Still
more important than this, however,
they prove this popular article has
been brought to the highest degree
of purity-for to its superative pur-
ity this superiority in strength is
due-and consequently that by its
use we may be insured the purest
and most wholesome food.
The powders of lower strength
are found to leave large amounts of
inert matter in the food, This fact
is emphasized by the report of the
Ohio State Food Commissioner,
who, while finding the Royal prac-
tically pure, found no other powder
to contain less than 10 per cent, of
inert or foreign matters.
The public interest in this ques-
ton has likewise caused to be made
investigations by our local author
tiles. Prof. w. S. Haines, of Rush
Medical College, consulting chemist
of the Chicago Board of Health,
has found results similar to those
reported by the nationaland Cana
dian authorities. DR.. Haines says:
RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE,
! CHICAGO, ILL.
| l have recently obtained samples
of the chief baking powders in the
market, and have subjected them to
careful chemical examination to de-
termine their purity, wholesomeness
and leavening power. AS the result
of my tests / find the Royal baking
powder superior to all the Others in
every respect. 1t is entirely free
from all adulteration and unwhole-
some impurity, and in baking gives
off a greater volume of leayening
gas than any other powder. 1t is,
therefore, not only the purest, but
also the strongest powder with which
| am acquainted.
WALTER S. HAINEs, NJ. D.,
Consulting Chemist, Chicago
Board of Health.
The statistics show that there is
used in the manufacture of the Roy
al baking powder more than half of
all the cream of tartar consumed in
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