The effect of baking powder residues on rancidity

Summary and Conclusions The effect on rancidity of heated residues of the four commercial types of baking powder was measured in artificial aqueous fat systems. The powders inhibited rancidity in such systems in the following order: combination, tartrate, monocalcium phosphate, and pyrophosphate—the combination being least effective and the pyrophosphate very much more effective than any other type. The antioxidant effect of the pyrophosphate powder was shown to be due primarily to a synergism with tocopherol rather than to special ability of the pyrophosphate to bind traces of copper. The synergism was much more marked with tocopherol than with NDGA. In accelerated tests on the dried crumbs, biscuits and muffins baked with a pyrophosphate powder had much greater resistance to rancidity than those made with a combination powder. When frozen, products made with the combination powder developed off odors more rapidly than those made with a pyrophosphate powder.