Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-13
OFFICIAL FOOD TESTS.
The United States and Canadian
Governments AnalyZe the
Baking Powders.
Comparative Strength and Purity of the
Different Brands Officially
Determined.
From Chicago Tribune.

suggestions about the food it eats. Great
interest has been taken in the investi-
cations made by the United States and
Canadian governments and by the diff
ferent boards of health to show the
purity or impurity of milk, baking
powders, spices and other articles OF
daily use in the culinary department 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 i'm
pure 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 acid.
The official analyses by the United
States and Canadian governments have
therefore been studied with interest and
have pretty clearly established the facts
upon this subject. The United States
government report gives the names of
eighteen well-known powders, some OF
them advertised as pure cream of tartar
baking powders, that contain alum.
The report shows that the Royal bak-
ing powder was found the highest 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 aver
age strength was 111.3 cubic inches of
gas per ounce of powder.
The Canadian government investiga-
tons were of still larger number of
powders. The Royal baking powder.
was here also shown the purest and
highest in strength, containing 129 32
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 indi-
cate that the Royal baking powder 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 superlative
purity this superiority in strength is
due-and consequently that by its use
we may be insured the purest I'D most
wholesome food.
The powders of lower strength are
found to leave large amounts of inert mat
ters in the food. This fact is emphasized
by the report of the Ohio state food
commissioner, who, while finding the
Royal practically pure, found no other
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 investi-
cations by our local authorities. Prof.
w. S. Hanes. of Rush medical college,
consulting chemist of thr Chicago board
of health, has found results similar to
those reported by the national and
Canadian authorities. DR.. Haines
SAYS:
RUSH MEDICAL CoLLEa E, CHICAGO, III.
| have recently obtained samples of
the chief baking powders in the market,
and have subjected them to careful
chemical examination co determine
their purity, wholesome ness and leaven-
ing power. AS the result of my tests find
the Royal baking powder superior to all
the others in every respect. 1t is en-
tirely free from all adulteration and un-
wholesome impurity, and in baking it
gives off a greater volume of leavening
gas than any other powder. 1t is, there
fore, not only the purest, but also the
strongest powder with which am ac-
acquainted.
WALTER S. HAINEs, M. D.,
Consulting Chemist Chicago Board of
Health.
The statistics show that there is used
n the manufacture of the Royal baking
powder more than half of all the cream
of tartar 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 combined-is perhaps
even higher evidence than that al
ready quoted of the superiority of this
article, and of it's indispensableness to
modern cookery.