There are about 3.2 cups in a pound of Cream of Tartar. Cream of Tartar weighs 144 g per cup (spooned and levelled), so a pound — 453.59 g — divides to 3.15 cups. Acidic white powder left over from winemaking. Stabilising egg whites, activating baking soda and making baking powder. Every figure on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume and the weight depends on how the ingredient settles and how it was measured; when the amount matters — a cake, a sauce that must set, a dough that must rise — weigh the Cream of Tartar on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. This page gives you the full table for a pound and beyond, worked examples from real recipes, the method behind the figure, and the mistakes that catch people out.

How many cups in a pound of Cream of Tartar?

A pound of Cream of Tartar is about 3.2 cups (3.15 cups, to be exact). The table below covers a quarter of a pound up to ten pounds, so you can read off whatever your recipe or your bulk buy calls for without doing the division yourself. If your recipe lists Cream of Tartar in grams, the same table works in reverse: find the grams and read across to the cups.

Amount Cups Grams Tablespoons Millilitres
0.25 lb 0.79 113 13 186
0.5 lb 1.57 227 25 373
0.75 lb 2.36 340 38 559
1 lb 3.15 454 50 745
2 lb 6.30 907 101 1491
5 lb 15.75 2268 252 3726
10 lb 31.50 4536 504 7453

The tablespoons column is the useful one for small amounts: a pound of Cream of Tartar is about 50 tablespoons, and a single tablespoon weighs about 9.0 g. Use the pounds to grams converter if your recipe lists a different weight, and the cups to grams converter if you need the figure for a single cup of cream of tartar.

Worked examples

The examples below use real recipes, with the cups and the grams side by side so you can follow the maths in context. Each one also notes where the cup is good enough and where the scale earns its keep.

A meringue for a pavlova

A meringue for a pavlova needs 1 tablespoon of Cream of Tartar — about 9 g — one teaspoon beaten into 4 egg whites. One teaspoon is about 3 g; cream of tartar stabilises the whites so the meringue holds its peaks instead of weeping in the oven.

Snickerdoodles for a bake sale

Snickerdoodles for a bake sale need 2 tablespoons of Cream of Tartar — about 18 g — two teaspoons in a double batch of cookies. Two teaspoons is about 6 g; cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles their signature tang and their soft, chewy centre.

Homemade baking powder

Homemade baking powder needs 1 tablespoon of Cream of Tartar — about 9 g — mixed with baking soda for a small batch. One tablespoon is about 9 g; the classic ratio is two parts cream of tartar to one part baking soda, and the mix goes stale within weeks.

How the figure was measured

The weight figure on this page comes from USDA: Cream of Tartar weighs 144 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, and that figure carries medium confidence in CookScale's 120-ingredient table. All weights are per US cup (236.6 ml), and every cup-based result on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume while the weight depends on how the ingredient settles, how fresh it is, and how it was measured. When the amount matters — a cake, a sauce that must set, a dough that must rise — weigh the Cream of Tartar on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. Read more about this ingredient on the Cream of Tartar hub, which covers its weight, its measures, its storage and its substitutes in one place.

How the maths works

The conversion is a single division: one pound is 453.59 g, and one cup of Cream of Tartar weighs 144 g, so 453.59 ÷ 144 = 3.15 cups. Going the other way, one cup of Cream of Tartar weighs 144 g, which is 0.32 lb, and one tablespoon weighs about 9.0 g while one teaspoon weighs about 3.00 g. To get any number of cups, weigh that many times 144 g: two cups is 288 g, three cups is 432 g, and half a cup is 72 g. In volume terms, a pound of Cream of Tartar is about 745 ml, since one US cup is 236.6 ml. Remember that the cup is a volume and the pound is a weight, so this maths only works because we know the density of Cream of Tartar; the same pound of a different ingredient would be a different number of cups entirely.

Practical guidance

Leavening loses strength with age and damp, so a pound of it is only a bargain if you bake often enough to use it while it is fresh. Airtight jar, cool and dry, up to 3 years. Store cream of tartar somewhere dry; it cakes into a hard lump at the first sign of damp. Date the tin when you open it, and test it before an important bake — a failed rise wastes the whole batch, not just the leavening.

How to measure it

Spoon Cream of Tartar into a dry measuring spoon and level it with a knife — never scoop the spoon through the tin, and never heap it. Leavening is the one ingredient where a careless spoonful changes the outcome: too much leaves a bitter or metallic taste and can make a cake rise and then collapse. One teaspoon of Cream of Tartar weighs about 3.00 g, so for large batches weigh it rather than counting spoonfuls.

Why recipes ask for a pound of Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar is sold by weight in small jars, while recipes call for teaspoons, so a pound of it is a professional quantity — about three cups, or roughly 150 teaspoons. Home cooks buy it by the ounce, but bakeries buy it by the pound for meringues and snickerdoodles, and it keeps for years.

Buying and storing a pound of Cream of Tartar

A pound of leavening is a professional quantity for a home cook, but it is cheap, so the cost of the pound is rarely the issue — the issue is using it before it loses strength. If you bake weekly, a pound lasts a year; if you bake monthly, buy the small tin instead.

Frequently asked questions

How many teaspoons are in a pound of Cream of Tartar?

About 151 teaspoons. A pound of Cream of Tartar is about 3.15 cups, and there are 48 teaspoons in a cup, so 3.15 × 48 is about 151. A single teaspoon weighs about 3.00 g.

Can I use too much Cream of Tartar?

Yes, and it is the most common leavening mistake. Too much Cream of Tartar leaves a bitter, metallic or soapy taste and can make a cake rise fast and then collapse in the middle. Measure it level with a knife, never heaped, and never add extra 'for luck'.

How do I know if my Cream of Tartar is still active?

Cream of tartar barely loses strength on the shelf, but if it has caked into a hard lump from damp, replace it — a damp jar will not measure accurately.

How should I store a pound of Cream of Tartar?

In an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Airtight jar, cool and dry, up to 3 years. Date the tin when you open it, and test it before an important bake — a failed rise wastes the whole batch.

How do I make baking powder from cream of tartar?

Mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda — two teaspoons of cream of tartar plus one teaspoon of baking soda replaces a tablespoon of baking powder. Make only what you need, since the mix goes stale within weeks.

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