The History of the
Baking Powder Wars

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You have heard probably of other product wars ....

Thomas Edison and Tesla.....Wars over Salt .....
but Baking Powder????

This is just a little can you pick up for a buck and a half
or so to make your baked goods raise.

Yes in a nutshell,
There were 2 styles of Baking powder and the one that dominated the market,

The new formula, Rumsford, that used less and acted both when mixed and in the oven when it reached a certain temperature. It was also less expensive to begin with so it started cutting into the business of Royal so to combat this they started to advertise that Rumsford used an ingredient called Alum, that was unhealthy and even tried to bribe legislators to ban the ingredient. Lawsuits happened and the new formula won out.

Was there really that much money in Baking Powder?

Ohhh Yeah ......

Royal Baking Powder Trading Card, of their factory in Manhattan- late 1800's

In 1873, the Royal Baking Powder Company was established in Manhattan. With a strong focus on advertising and the creation of recipes and cookbooks, Royal embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign. Under the leadership of the Hoagland brothers, the company experienced remarkable growth, with sales skyrocketing from $350,000 in 1876 to an impressive $3 million in 1888. The company spared no expense, allocating a staggering $300,000 per year for advertising purposes.

By 1917, the Royal Company boasted assets totaling $30 million, surpassing the likes of Coca-Cola, H.J. Heinz, and Campbell Soup. The company's exceptional profitability and market leadership attracted numerous competitors eager to challenge Royal's dominance in the industry.

Why was Royal Baking Powder a larger company than
Coca Cola, Heinz Catsup and Cambells Soup?

At that time, bread and dessert making was very important.
Bakery made bread and desserts were expensive and not always available.

Bread was a large staple in back in the early 1900s, It is estimated that a person would eat
a pound of bread daily.

Yeast could be very finicky to use. Often you had to make your own yeast starters and it could take
all day for them to rise. Folks were looking for a quicker way.

Keeping house was an ALL DAY event...
In the early 1900's there were few conveniences for housework.

my father said that grandma washed on Monday, Ironed on Teusday,
walked to different stores to get vegetables, meats, butter and dairy....
you get the picture,

Any convenience to make a chore easier was welcome.

So as word got around to housewives about this convenience
Which brand should we get?

First of all, is there a difference in Baking Powders?

Basically we are looking for a baking soda and vinegar type reaction. that produces gas.

When baking powder became a product for sale, the first popular formula was a blend of Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar which like vinegar is an acid. For a mosture and anti-caking agent they add cornstarch. This is a nice blend but the down side is that it was single acting, so you had to get that cake in the oven quick before all the gas is expelled when the baking powder is mixed with liquid. Cream of Tartar a by product of wine making, and relativly expensive.

A new formula was developed that was made from boiling down bones and from that exracted a product called " monocalcium phosphate" which is an acid and much less expensive. Later on Alum was used.

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How to Make Your Own Baking Powder

or a larger batch

Self Rising Flour Recipe

Fun Articles about the Baking Powder Wars and Scandals

21 Apr 1903, Tue Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

23 May 1903, Sat The Merchants Journal (Topeka, Kansas) Newspapers.com

12 Apr 1903, Sun St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) Newspapers.com

It is strange to think that there would be a war over something so insignificant as
baking powder. It's not as wide reaching as wars over salt, but it is more of a war
over market share accusing a company of using chemicals to blow up your bread that
are poisonous to the body, and the company is only thinking of making profit.

The Baking Powder Wars!

The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking
(Heartland Foodways) Paperback – May 22, 2017 by Linda Civitello (Author)

Ok I didn't mean to start off with advertising a product,
(and I need to say I receive a small compensation if you purchase it)
but It is such a good visual to start this project and
Linda is SOOOO good, I include a youtube of her talking about this subject.

Meet Linda Civitello and watch her video on
the Baking Powder Wars

The Baking Powder Wars

with Linda Civitello

About This Project

There is a difference between an article and a project.
a project is something that suggests it is in the building phase
towards learning more about our curiosities.

I don't always know what those are but it is
usally FUN ..and I LEARN KNEW SKILLS ...and lots of SURPRISES
sometimes about things
I NEVER KNEW WERE THERE.

I also want to encourage you to bake more.