Cream of tartar is derived from tartaric acid, a naturally-occurring substance produced by grapes during the winemaking process. Cream of tartar goes back about 7,000 years, but only became a cooking staple about 250 years ago, when French cooks added it to meringue; however, in Victorian times, this powder was used in another way.

Cream of tartar was once used as a natural, environmentally-conscious cleaning agent; when mixed with water, it does a decent job at cleaning bathroom surfaces, and when mixed with lemon juice or white vinegar, it can be used to polish cutlery. More than a century later, this Victorian cleaning method is gaining popularity once again.

To try cleaning with cream of tartar, sprinkle it onto a damp cloth to remove stains on aluminum; you can also blend the powder with lemon juice or white vinegar to make copper tools sparkle and remove ink stains from items. Combined with glycerin and poured into a spray bottle, cream of tartar can also remove stains when doing laundry.