Remember that time you bought cream of tartar just to use a teaspoon in a cookie recipe? If that jar of white powder is now collecting dust in your spice cabinet, here’s a surprising new use for it: making tomatoes taste better. Cream of tartar — potassium bitartrate, a byproduct of winemaking — can rebalance the acidity of tomatoes without altering their natural taste. Even peak-season tomatoes can have an off-balance pH and sometimes lack that perfect sweet-and-tart harmony. If you’re one of those people who loves to eat a tomato like an apple, this is a trick you’ll want up your sleeve. Just a sprinkle of cream of tartar is all you need to boost their flavor.
Tomato flavor depends on a delicate balance of sweetness and acidity. While a fresh-picked tomato might have some great, robust taste, off-season or store-bought tomatoes can often disappoint. Cream of tartar adds a subtle acidity boost, rebalancing flavors and making even a lackluster tomato good and umami-ish. Unlike other acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar, cream of tartar doesn’t bring additional flavors or too much liquid to the table, allowing the pure tomato-ey flavor to come through. You can use MSG to enhance a tomato’s flavor, but cream of tartar is a flavor-neutral option that lets natural sweetness and acidity take center stage.
So, next time your tomatoes taste dull, reach for the cream of tartar. It’s a quick, flavor-enhancing trick that’s bound to become a staple in your culinary repertoire.
How to use cream of tartar on tomatoes
Using cream of tartar to amplify tomato flavor is simple; you don’t need any special recipe or technique. Slice your tomatoes and lightly dust them with a pinch of the powder. There’s no need to drown them in vinegar or compromise the taste with overpowering ingredients; cream of tartar brings balance without upstaging the star of the show. A sprinkle of salt can’t hurt, though.
Cream of tartar isn’t just for tomatoes. It’s also used as a baking substitute for self-rising flour and can replace acidic elements in various recipe, from stabilizing egg whites and homemade whipped cream to making homemade buttermilk. If you’ve been wondering how to get more mileage from that forgotten jar, start with tomatoes. And while you can substitute cream of tartar for other acids in cooking, its unique ability to rebalance flavors without adding its own taste makes it ideal for tomato dishes. Enjoy richer, more balanced bites with every juicy slice.