What is Clabber? or, how Clabber Girl got her name

In the late 1880's with the introduction of baking powder, manufacturers had to let people know that this new product was used to make a leavening reaction in their biscuits and other baked goods. Prior to the invention of baking powder in 1854, bakers would mix a combination of things to make their baked goods rise. Whipped eggs and yeast were both used to make leavening, but cooks also would mix combinations of saleratus, pearlash, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sour milk. Milk was clabbered, or soured for several days so it could be used for baking purposes. Many kitchens even had a "clabber" pitcher they used for this purpose. Sometimes the milk left over from the butter making process was used in the clabber pitcher.

Our company (Hulman & Company) began manufacturing baking powder in 1879 under many different brand names, but in 1899 we used the name Clabber Baking Powder to infer that it took the place of clabbered milk. The original picture on the can depicted a woman churning butter, as the buttermilk left over after the butter making process was also used in the clabber pitcher.

The brand Clabber Baking Powder was so popular, we kept this name until 1923, when the new food laws were introduced, and mandated that products should not be misleading. Since there was no clabber or milk in the product, the decision was made to change the name. The decision was made to put Girl at the end of the name, and we also replaced the picture on the front of the can with a girl holding a plate of biscuits. This enabled us to comply with the new food laws and at the same time we could keep our consumer base we had built for Clabber Baking Powder.