Hartshorn

Hartshorn

. Various substances were made from the shavings of the animals' horns.

The oil of hartshorn is a crude animal oil obtained from the destructive distillation of the deers' bones or horns.

The salt of hartshorn actually refers to two distinct substances, "sal ammoniac" (ammonium chloride), and ammonium carbonate, which have been obtained from oil of hartshorn by dry distillation.

The spirit of hartshorn is an aqueous solution of ammonia. The solution was manufactured from the hooves and horns of the red deer, as well as some other animals. The aqueous solution was a colorless and pungent, consisting of about 28.5 percent ammonia gas. It was used chiefly as a detergent, for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts.

Use in medicine

Hartshorn jelly or a decoction of burnt hartshorn in water was used to treat diarrhoea. The coal of hartshorn, called calcinated hartshorn, was used as an absorbent, as well as in the treatment of dysentery. "Salt of hartshorn" (ammonium carbonate) was used as a for treatment of fevers, and as a smelling salt. [

Citation
last = Willich
first = A. F. M.
title = Harts' Horns
encyclopedia = Domestic Encyclopedia Or A Dictionary Of Facts, And Useful Knowledge
volume = 2
publisher = B. McMillan
year = 1802

] Hartshorn was used to treat insect bites, [

Citation
last = Brown
first = Dr. O. Phelps
title = Venomous Insects. Tarantula, Scorpion, Hornet, Wasp, Bee, Gnat, Gad-Fly
encyclopedia = The Complete Herbalist
publisher = Dr. O. Phelps Brown
year = 1878

] , sunstroke [

Citation
last = Brown
first = Dr. O. Phelps
title = Sunstroke
encyclopedia = The Complete Herbalist
publisher = Dr. O. Phelps Brown
year = 1878

] , stye [

Citation
last = Brown
first = Dr. O. Phelps
title = Stye (Hordeolum)
encyclopedia = The Complete Herbalist
publisher = Dr. O. Phelps Brown
year = 1878

] , and snakebites [

Citation
last = Brown
first = Dr. O. Phelps
title = Animal Poisons: Fish and Serpents
encyclopedia = The Complete Herbalist
publisher = Dr. O. Phelps Brown
year = 1878

]

Use in baking

"Hartshorn salt" (ammonium carbonate), also known simply as "hartshorn", and "baker's ammonia", was used as a leavening agent, in the baking of cookies and other edible treats. It was used mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries as a forerunner of baking powder [

cite book
title=Oxford Companion to Food
last=Davidson
first=Alan
authorlink=Alan Davidson (food writer)
publisher=Oxford University Press
location=Oxford |year=1999
pages=372

] . ½ teaspoon of hartshorn equals to 1 teaspoon of baking powder. It is called for in old German and Scandinavian recipes and, though rarely used in modern times, may still be purchased as a baking ingredient. [

Baker's Ammonia for sale by King Arthur Flour ($8.99 for 2.7oz): citation
url=http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/landing.jsp?term=bakers+ammonia&go=DefaultSearch
accessdate=2008-05-05

] Use of hartshorn may turn some ingredients, such as sunflower seeds, green.

Ammonium carbonate is especially suited to thin, dry cookies. When heated it releases ammonia and carbon dioxide gases, but no water. The lack of water allows the cookies to cook and dry out faster, and thinner cookies allows the pungent ammonia to be completely baked out, rather than remaining behind, as it would in a thicker mass. Other than the pungent ammonia smell that is produced when baking with ammonium carbonate, and the possibility of an slight ammonia flavour remaining in the baking, is that the ammonia released during the baking process reacts with glucose and fructose to form intermediate molecules which in turn react with asparagine (found in nuts, seeds, and grains) to form acrylamide, a carcinogen. [

Citation
last = Amrein
first = Thomas M.
last2 = Schönbächler
first2 = Barbara
last3 = Escher
first3 = Felix
last4 = Amadò
first4 = Thomas M.
title = Acrylamide in gingerbread: critical factors for formation and possible ways for reduction
journal = Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
volume = 52
pages = 4282-88
date = 2004
year = 2004

] [

Citation
last = Amrein
first = Thomas M.
last2 = Andres
first2 = Luca
last3 = Manzardo
first3 = Giuseppe G. G
last4 = Amadò
first4 = Renato
title = Investigations on the promoting effect of ammonium hydrogencarbonate on the formation of acrylamide in model systems
journal = Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
volume = 54
pages = 10253-61
date = 2006
year = 2004]

References


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  • Hartshorn — Harts horn ( h[^o]rn ), n. 1. The horn or antler of the hart, or male red deer. [1913 Webster] 2. Spirits of hartshorn (see below); volatile salts. [1913 Webster] {Hartshorn plantain} (Bot.), an annual species of plantain ({Plantago Coronopus});… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hartshorn — ammonium carbonate, O.E. heortes hornes, from HART (Cf. hart) + HORN (Cf. horn) (n.). So called because a main early source of ammonia was the antlers of harts …   Etymology dictionary

  • hartshorn — [härts′hôrn΄] n. 1. a hart s antler 2. Now Rare ammonium carbonate, used in smelling salts; sal volatile: so called because formerly obtained from deers antlers …   English World dictionary

  • hartshorn — noun /ˈhɑːtshɔːn/ a) The antler of a hart, once used as a source of ammonia. Sophia, who had tottered along with much difficulty, sunk down in her chair; but by the assistance of hartshorn and water, she was prevented from fainting away... b) An… …   Wiktionary

  • hartshorn — A mixture of ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium carbamate obtained from ammonium sulfate and calcium carbonate by sublimation; used as an expectorant and in smelling salts; so called because originally obtained from deer antlers. * …   Medical dictionary

  • Hartshorn — Recorded in the modern spellings of Hartshorn and Hartshorne, this is an English locational surname from a village of the same name in the county of Derbyshire.Both the village name and the surname have undergone some transition over the… …   Surnames reference

  • hartshorn — n. Carbonate of ammonia (in solution), spirits of hartshorn, liquid ammonia …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • hartshorn — n. archaic 1 an ammonious substance got from the horns of a hart. 2 (in full spirit of hartshorn) an aqueous solution of ammonia. Etymology: OE (as HART, HORN(1)) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Hartshorn plantain — Hartshorn Harts horn ( h[^o]rn ), n. 1. The horn or antler of the hart, or male red deer. [1913 Webster] 2. Spirits of hartshorn (see below); volatile salts. [1913 Webster] {Hartshorn plantain} (Bot.), an annual species of plantain ({Plantago… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hartshorn shavings — Hartshorn Harts horn ( h[^o]rn ), n. 1. The horn or antler of the hart, or male red deer. [1913 Webster] 2. Spirits of hartshorn (see below); volatile salts. [1913 Webster] {Hartshorn plantain} (Bot.), an annual species of plantain ({Plantago… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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