Many congressmen obliged, of course, because politicians are consistent across history. This included going as far as to bribe state congressmen to introduce anti-alum legislation, citing bogus health risks. So-as any good upstanding company would do-they began a merciless, unyielding propaganda campaign against Calumet and all other alum brands (including Chicago’s Crown Baking Powder). Their trademark “double-action leavening” effect started in the mixing bowl and concluded in the oven for a “perfectly baked cake.” Unfortunately, the industry’s old guard-led by the Royal Baking Powder Company of New York-weren’t interested in simply conceding to progress.Īs purveyors of the more expensive and less effective cream-of-tartar powder, Royal was doomed if alum-and-eggs became the new standard. Few denied that Calumet’s ingredients-which also included the unique addition of dried egg whites-created superior results in the kitchen. Whether you were a chemist, a baker, a merchant, a restaurateur, or a marginalized turn-of-the-century housewife, everyone had to pick a side.Ĭhicago’s Calumet Baking Powder Company, to the benefit of our story, aligned with the underdogs of the new school, being among the first American manufacturers to embrace the aluminum-phosphate trend in the late 1880s. But for a 40-year period from the 1880s through the 1920s, the phrase was used liberally to describe the very real, very vicious feud between the two presiding schools of thought in the commercial baking powder business: Cream-of-Tartar Formula (aka, the establishment) vs. Today, a “baking powder war” might happen when a group of unruly kids is left unattended in a cafeteria kitchen. This five-pound canister of Calumet Baking Powder might seem like a cute artifact from a old-timey diner or a small town general store, but make no mistake, you’re looking at a relic from a war. Made By: Calumet Baking Powder Co., 4100 W Fillmore St., Chicago, IL Museum Artifact: Calumet Baking Powder Tin, c.

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