The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-01-07
OFFICIAL FOOD TESTS.
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN
GOVERNMENTS ANALYzE THE
BAKING POWDERS.
Comparative Strength and Purity Of the
Different Brands Determined.
Prof. Haines, Consulting Chemist of The
Chicago Board of Health, Gives
His Opinion.
Chicago Tribune.

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 governments
and by the different boards of health
to show the purity or impurlty Of
milk, baking powder, spice and other
articles of daily use in the culinary
departments of our households.
Just now the subject Of baking pow,
der is claiming public attention. We
all desire pure and wholesome bread
and this cannot be had with the use OF
impure or poisonous baking powder.
There can be no longer any question
that all the cheaper lower grades OF
baking powders contain either alum,
lime or phosphate icid.
The official analyses by the United
States and Canadian governments
have therefore been studied with in
terest and have pretty clearly estab-
lished the facts upon this subject.
The United States government re-
port gives the names of eighteen well
known powders, some of them adver-
tised as pure cream of tarIer baking
powders, that contain alum.
The report shows that the Royal
baking powder was found the highest
in leavening strength, evolving 1906
cpbic inches of gas per single ounce OF
powder. There were eight other
brands of cream of tartar powders
tested and their average strength was
Ill, 5 cubic inches of gas per ounce OF
powder.
The Canadian government investi.
cations were of still larger number
of powders. The Royal baking powder
was here also shown the purest aud
highest in strength, containing 1884,
cubic inches of leavening 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 to
the practical housekeeper. They in
dictate that the Royal baking powder
goes more that 80 per cent further in
use than the others. or is one-third
more economical. Still more impOr-
tant than this, however, they prove
this popular article has been brought
to the highest degree, of purity-for to
it's superlative purity this superiority
in strength is due-and consequently
that by its use we may be insdred the
purest and m )st wholesome food.
The powders of lower strength are
found to leave large amounts Of inert
matters in the food. This fact is
emphasized by the report of the Ohio
State Food Commissioner, who, while
finding the Royal practically pure
found mother powder to contain less
than 10 per cent of inert or foreign
matters.
The public interest in this question
has likewise caused to be made inves'
tigations by our local authorities
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 national and Cana dian authorities.
DIR. Haines says:
RrsH MEDICAL COLLEGE. Chicago, Ill.
4 have recently obtained samples OF
the chief baking powders in the mar
ket, and have subjected them to CAR =
full chemical examination to deter
mine their purity, wholesomenessa and
l6dV6ulnU pUWeT. as thO vi my
tests I find the Royal baking powder
superior to all the others in every re.
spect. 1t is entirely free from all
aduteration and unwholesome impu-
rity. and in baking it gives off a
greater volume OF the leavening gas
than any other powder. 1t is, tn re-
fore, not only the purest, but also the
strongest powder with which L am
acquainted.
WALTER S. HAINEs, M. D.,
Consulting Chemist, Chicago Board OF
Health.
The statistics show that there is
used in the manufacture OF the Royal
baking powder more than half of all
the cream tarter consumed in the
United States for all purposes. The
wonderful sale thus indicated for the
Royal baking powder-greater than
that of all other baking powders com
bined-is perhaps even higher evil
dence than that already quoted OF the
superiority of this article, and of its
indispensableness to modern cookery
WASHINGTON WAITS