The Calumet Baking Powder Company was an American food company established in 1889 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, by salesman William Monroe Wright to manufacture

baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to incre ...

.What is the history of CALUMET Baking Powder?
on Kraft Foods Calumet operated independently until it was acquired by

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in 1929. Currently, Calumet is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

owned by

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverag ...

which baking powder is produced by its division,

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

Overview

His newly formulated double-acting

took its name from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

-derived, colonial-era word for a Native American

ceremonial pipe A ceremonial pipe is a particular type of smoking pipe (tobacco), smoking pipe, used by a number of cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas in their sacred ceremonies. Traditionally they are used to offer prayers in a religious ceremo ...

, given to the lands now known as

Calumet City, Illinois Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq ...

. Wright's company adopted a stylized

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

wearing a

war bonnet A modern-day Dog_Soldiers.html" ;"title="Cheyenne Dog Soldiers">dog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow at the Indian Summer festival in Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2008. War bonnets (also called warbonne ...

as its trademark. The new baking powder formula replaced cream of tartar with aluminum phosphate and also included dried egg whites. This formula was created by Wright with the help of chemist George Campbell Rew. In 1929, William Wright sold out to

and the "Calumet" baking powder became one of its many name brands. Wright, a fan of horse racing, would use his wealth to build what would become a world-renowned

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics i ...

and training operation in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, which he named

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegra ...

. It was later run by his son, Warren Wright. General Foods merged to

Kraft Foods Inc. Kraft Foods Inc. was a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earned more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House ...

in 1990 so Calumet was added to the Kraft Foods' brand portfolio. Cans of Calumet Baking Powder were used as props in the larder scenes of the 1980 film, '' The Shining''. This detail is noted early in the 2012 documentary ''

Room 237 ''Room 237'' is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Rodney Ascher about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's film '' The Shining'' (1980) which was adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The documentary includes f ...

'', as the catalyst for Bill Blakemore's theory that the film is an allegory for European settlers' genocide of Native Americans.

References

External links

* 1889 establishments in Illinois 1929 disestablishments in Illinois Baking powder American companies established in 1889 Food and drink companies disestablished in 1929 Defunct companies based in Chicago Food manufacturers of the United States History of Chicago Kraft Foods brands Manufacturing companies based in Chicago Food and drink companies established in 1889 General Foods {{US-manufacturing-company-stub

Overview

See also

References

External links