en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_bread
1 correction found
when baking powder became available in grocery stores in the 1930s
Baking powder was available decades before the 1930s. The first modern baking powder was patented in 1856, and Library of Congress materials show it was being advertised commercially by 1885.
Full reasoning
The timeline here is incorrect. Baking powder did not first become available in grocery stores in the 1930s.
Smithsonian Magazine's history of baking powder explains that chemist Eben Norton Horsford created and patented the first modern baking powder in 1856. The same source says that, instead of buying separate ingredients at a pharmacy, bakers could "grab one container off the grocery store shelf"—showing grocery-store availability in the 19th century, not the 1930s.
Library of Congress records also document commercial baking-powder advertising from 1885. For example, the LOC item "International baking powder. Manufactured by Queen City Chemical Co., Buffalo, N.Y." is dated c1885. So the 1930s may be important for banana bread's rise in popularity, but not for baking powder first becoming available in grocery stores.
2 sources
- The Great Uprising: How a Powder Revolutionized Baking
Smithsonian reports that Eben Norton Horsford created and patented the first modern baking powder in 1856, and that bakers could buy a single container from the grocery store shelf rather than mixing separate ingredients themselves.
- International baking powder. Manufactured by Queen City Chemical Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Library of Congress catalog record for a baking-powder advertisement dated c1885.