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Cream of Tartar from Wine Lees
Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate, a by-product of winemaking. It forms naturally in grapes and, because it dissolves poorly, it crystallises in wine casks during fermentation and settles with the lees, the sediment left when the young wine is racked off. Its solubility rises steeply with temperature, so the lees are dissolved in hot water, filtered, and cooled: the potassium bitartrate crystallises out and is filtered off again. Purified, it is the white, odourless, acidic powder used in cooking.
Beginner
1–2 days
Instructions
1
1
Collect the lees
Collect the lees
After fermentation, rack the wine off and keep the sediment, the lees.
Materials for this step:
Wine Lees1 as required2
2
Dissolve hot and filter
Dissolve hot and filter
Dissolve the lees in hot water and filter out the solids.
Materials for this step:
Water1 as requiredTools needed:
Stock Pot
Cheesecloth3
3
Cool and crystallise
Cool and crystallise
Let the filtered solution cool. As it cools the potassium bitartrate crystallises out; collect the crystals by filtering again.
Tools needed:
Cheesecloth4
4
Dry and powder
Dry and powder
Dry the crystals; the purified salt is a white, odourless, acidic powder.
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