What do you do when you are learning how to feed a child or adult with newly discovered food allergies? Learn how to make the basics. It’s not easy; however, when you dig down into the cooking and baking process, it’s a delightful treasure of knowledge. Once you know the basics, you can fix (almost) anything that’s on the grocery store shelf.
Finding how to make baking powder without corn was extremely important for the first year of learning to survive with an allergic eater. Our son was allergic to cornstarch, so we couldn’t use regular baking powder off of the grocery store shelf. If you are in this position, try and find cream of tartar by the pound. Cream of tartar is expensive by the pound, but it’s much cheaper than getting it in smaller quantities as usually sold in the local grocery store.
Baking powder can be complex if you have a corn allergy. Here are the basics:
Baking Powder
Ingredients:
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar
2 parts potato starch, arrowroot or cornstarch
Recipe Instructions:
Mix well and store in an airtight container. Lasts three to six months.
Note: When “parts” are noted, you can use a teaspoon, tablespoon, quarter of a cup in equal portions depending on the amount you’ll use in three months. I usually used the tablespoon option unless I was going to be making larger premixed batches of dry goods.
The potato starch, arrowroot or cornstarch keep the baking soda and cream of tartar fresh.
If you cannot use potato starch, arrowroot or cornstarch, have your baking soda and cream of tartar on hand and add to baking ingredients while baking. For instance, in a recipe that calls for one tsp. of baking powder, you would add a little less than 1/4 tsp baking soda and a little less than 1/2 tsp cream of tartar.
