Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-04-12
DEMOcRAcY'S LATEST FREAKS.
Is A BIG BUSINESS
The Manufacture Of Baking
Powder Described
SOME OF THE SECRETS EXPOS
How the First Powder Was Made-Im-
purities and Filers-Thc Way Cheap
Stuff Is Produced.

W. B. Field of Chicago. is at the
New Livingston. He has sold baking
powder many years and to u reporter
for THE HERALD talked on the subject.
"The first article that could be called
baking powder" said Mr.. Field, twas
prepared way back In the tifties by
man IN Prov .Gence. Il consisted of an
acid phosphate and an alksli in sepa-
rate cans. The acid pnosp hate wssused
in lieu of cream of tartar. Before that
time the housewife used homemade
mixture comDosed Of sour milk and
pearl ash, which WAS made from burnt
ashes and was IN fact crude soda, now
called saleratus. The combination pro-
duced gas which IS, OF course, the re-
quiremcnt. For years the preparation
WAS the only thing of the KIND in the
market, anu even now there are Old
fashioned housewives VINO will use
nothing else. The phosphate used,
IN spite of the cry Of dead mems
bones used against it, is quite as
heSlthfui as cream of tartar, If not
more so. The phosphates don't sell
nowadays, but they are certainly whole
some. So
Impure Cream of Tartar.
OF some thirty odd samples of cream
1 tartar which our house tested tn
>certain their purity, some of which
ran AS hlgh as 80 cents pound, we
found not one pure sample, and the
best contained thirty-two and one-half
per cent of lime while, of course, the
properties should all be of an acid
nature. The ann in making baking
powder IS TO combine the elements of
alkali and acid that will produce car
bonIc acid gas and "a q combination of
suiphuric acid, crystallzed with corn
starch and an addition of marble dust
will produce a powder that will effer-
vesce beautifully when moIstened, you
can see that the temptations to adul-
terate are great in our bnsiuess. Such
a powder can be made for one and five
elghths cents pound and canned tor
one and one-Quarter cents, and finds u
ready market at ten and fifteen cents
a pound. Such product is the mos.
unhealthful mess that the American
people put into their stomachs.
Far Behind Europe.
Pm free to say that we are Just one
hundred years behind Europe in the
| matter OF food inspection. In France
Ieople can buy impure food products
| but when they do they know IT. think
the people themselves are to blame for
this state of affairs. They say, give
Us something cheap, and as "A conse-
ouence we see pepper adulterated with
parched bread, and crackers and cof-
fee berries made from clay and so per-
feet that an expert cannot detect the
fraud without careful tests. We buy
stick CHINA hon thst never snw the
cassla tree, being made from bark that
is boiled and while porus allowed 10
soak III q solution of cinnamon water.
Congressional action cannot prevent
admiration az their laws would hold
good only on government. lands. tbst is,
the District OF Columbia, the territories
and forts and arseuals. 1t needs state
legislation to wipe out this evil. il isa
fact, however, that IN baking powders,
amonias or alum, which are
called impurities, are as necessary
Ingredients as IS alloy TO the god dol
lar. They act as preseryatives and
present the effervtsclng which would
otherwise be inevitable in our damp
climate and thus the powder loses
much of its strength. Starch Is another
necessary ingredient. IL seems 90 keep
the acid ana slkall apart anu prevents
them from gathering in hard lump
/ in the middle OF the can. In our
factory. which has al output Of l44
cans every three seconds or three and
and half car loads daily. We first t>st
our materials. then pace them lp reels
where they ara thoroughly mixed.
Then rye -four u added as a filler, The
same as corn starch. and
powdered altunen - put IN TO give toe
powder elasticity. Another mixing
follows and the powder a passed
through o. pes to The cans. These ere
hbessd, stacked sad packed bv differ.
ent gangs OF girls. the wnole process al
making sna packing. taxing three
hours ii'san irpneuse business and
al the hg factories are making blg