I don’t usually give much thought to baking powder brands, but this 1924 full-page advertisement on the inside cover of the April, 1924 issue of American Cookery made me realize that there used to be differences across brands. I definitely don’t want to spoil a cake by using a bad baking powder. I wonder if there still are significant differences.
I must admit, for me baking powder is baking powder is baking powder. I’ve never noticed a difference in properties, and none of them has been bad.
I’m the same. I think that the stores where I shop often just sell one brand.
I always use Rumford—it is one of the few that doesn’t have aluminum in it. Don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be eating that on purpose. 😀
Yes…I wish I could find some.
I know that I’ve purchased Rumford Baking Powder in the past – but currently I have a different brand. The store where I usually shop may have quit carrying it. Not sure. I’ll have to look.
I learned something new. I hadn’t realized that different baking powders had different ingredients and that some contain aluminum.
I use Rumford for that reason also.
Like Carol, Rumford is my baking powder of choice because they’ve never add the aluminum chemical, and I’ve always had good results.
Somewhere, I have that Rumford cookbook!
Until I started reading the comments to this post, I hadn’t realized that some baking powders contained aluminum. I should read ingredient lists more carefully.
They did a good marketing 😉 Not sure if there are differences…i have used plenty brands but I never noticed the difference 😆
Like you, I’ve used many brands across the years, and never noticed any difference.
Same, I never buy the same brand on purpose, although I do happen to have rumford right now. I just make sure it is fresh.
I’ve never paid attention to baking powder brands, but the next time I buy it I probably will read the labels and think about the differences, and which brand might be the best.
I find the most important thing about baking soda is to make sure it is in date.
Makes sense. Expired baking powder may not be as effective at lifting up baked goods.
I’ve been using no-aluminum baking powder for years. It works just as well without the extra chemical. Rumford is fine–so is BakeWell Cream (they make baking powder as well as their signature cream of tartar product), and so is our Wegman’s store brand. What I love most about Rumford is that it’s the name of the little Maine town where my father grew up!
I wonder why some baking powders include aluminum. It doesn’t seem like it’s needed. It’s fun that the baking powder has the same name as the little town where your father grew up.
Probably some sort of « modern » invention, maybe thought to increase shelf life???
Maybe. . .that seems to be a common reason for why many foods contain additives.
I prefer Rumford. My question is how much cake are they baking with a pound can in their pantry! Yikes!
They had big families back then. 🙂
My grandmother baked fresh bread each day. I think mom told me she made 7 loaves at a clip. They were a family of 13.
Wow, that’s a lot of bread. She must have figured out some way to fit breadmaking into her daily household routines.
She was up crazy early. Made all her food. Lots of pasta.
This was a fun ad, Sheryl, with the words and drawing of women in their 1920s attire at the table eating cake. Aluminum-free baking powder is important to me and I’ve always used Rumford. But around the time of the pandemic they stopped making the half-can, which I prefer so that it goes faster and I can buy it fresher. I’ve had more than one times when the cake or pastry didn’t rise enough only to find out the baking powder was outdated. We don’t think much about baking powder, but it is important. It’s amazing they have been making and selling this for over a century.
Little things like baking powder can have a big effect on the outcome. I agree that it’s amazing that this brand has been around for over a century.
I’m still bothered that the main text of the copy ends with a period when it should end with a question mark.
Wow, you’re right. I hadn’t noticed that before. You’d think that a copy editor would have caught the punctuation error.
Sure would. Haha.
An interesting explanation about the aluminum: https://www.chefsresource.com/why-is-aluminum-in-baking-powder/
Thanks for sharing the link. I learned a lot about baking powder and why it sometimes contains aluminum.