Baking With an Acid and an Alkali

• Before you try to substitute cream of tartar for lime juice, you must first understand their roles in baking. Both are acids, which are added to baked goods with alkaline ingredients to create a reaction that produces a gas and causes the baked good to rise.Baking soda is a common alkali used with lime juice or cream of tartar.

The Lowdown on Cream of Tartar

• Cream of tartar is a commonly used acid created from wine-making casks after the process is complete. Called an acidic salt, cream of tartar is also used as a volume-increasing agent, and as a sugar crystal prevention agent. It is a white, powdery substance usually sold in the spice aisle of the grocery store.

The Issue With Subbing

• The problem with substituting cream of tartar for lime juice is two-fold. The first is that one ingredient is a powder and the other is a liquid. Adding a powder in place of a liquid in a batter or dough can upset the baked good's final texture. Things like dryness and tough crusts are among the results. The second issue is acidity. Cream of tartar is much more acidic than lime juice. On the pH scale, where low numbers are more acidic, lime juice rates a five to an eight, while cream of tartar is rated a three or four. This inequality in acidity can make the substitution difficult without adjustment.

Making the Substitution

• You can make the substitution by using a little calculation and consideration. When replacing lime juice with cream of tartar, remember that three times the amount of lime is needed to make one portion of cream of tartar. For example, three teaspoons lime juice are equal to one teaspoon cream of tartar. Divide the lime juice called for in your recipe by three to get the amount of cream of tartar you need. Replace the lime juice flavor with a splash of lime extract, if you have it, to taste and increase the liquid in the batter by two thirds of the amount of lime juice called for in the recipe. Doing so should balance the batter's consistency after the substitution.