# Hartshorn

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Antler of male red deer

For other uses, see [Hartshorn (disambiguation)](/source/Hartshorn_(disambiguation)).

Male [red deer](/source/Red_deer)

**Hartshorn** is the [antler](/source/Antler) of male [red deer](/source/Red_deer).

## Derivatives

Various [nitrogen](/source/Nitrogen) compounds were made from hartshorn shavings:

- **Oil of hartshorn** is a crude chemical product obtained from the [destructive distillation](/source/Destructive_distillation) of deer antlers.

- **Salt of hartshorn** refers to [ammonium carbonate](/source/Ammonium_carbonate), an early form of [smelling salts](/source/Smelling_salts) and [baking powder](/source/Baking_powder) obtained by [dry distillation](/source/Dry_distillation) of oil of hartshorn.

- **Spirit of hartshorn** (or **spirits of hartshorn**) is an archaic name for [aqueous ammonia](/source/Aqueous_ammonia). Originally, this term was applied to a solution manufactured from the hooves and antlers of the red deer, as well as those of some other animals. The aqueous solution was colorless and pungent, consisting of about 28.5 percent ammonia. It was used chiefly as a [detergent](/source/Detergent), for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts. Later, the term was applied to the partially purified similar products of the action of heat on nitrogenous animal matter generally. Finally, the term was applied to any aqueous solution of ammonia.[1]

## Uses

### Medicine

**Hartshorn jelly** or a decoction of burnt hartshorn in water was used to treat [diarrhea](/source/Diarrhea). The coal of hartshorn, called **[calcinated](/source/Calcination) hartshorn**, was used as an absorbent, as well as in the treatment of [dysentery](/source/Dysentery). *Salt of hartshorn* ([ammonium carbonate](/source/Ammonium_carbonate)) was used as a [sudorific](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sudorific) for treatment of fevers, and as a [smelling salt](/source/Smelling_salt).[2] Hartshorn was used to treat insect bites,[3] sunstroke,[4] [stye](/source/Stye),[5] and snakebites.[6]

### Baking

*Hartshorn salt*, also known as *hartshorn*, *baker's ammonia, ammonium carbonate* and *ammonium bicarbonate* is used as a [leavening agent](/source/Leavening_agent) in baked goods in place of yeast, baking soda and baking powder. It was more popular in the 1700s and prior as a forerunner of the modern [baking powder](/source/Baking_powder)[7] but is still used today in traditional German, Swiss, Polish, Dutch and Nordic recipes such as

- amoniaczki and drömmar (Polish and Swedish sugar cookies)

- loftkökur (Icelandic chocolate cookies)

- hafrakex (Icelandic oatmeal cookies)

- [Basler Leckerli](/source/Basler_L%C3%A4ckerli) (Swiss & German citrus gingerbread)

- [Biscoff](/source/Speculoos) (Dutch, Belgian & German illustrated Christmas cookies, aka windmill cookies or Speculaas)

- [Springerle](/source/Springerle) (German illustrated Christmas crackers)

- [lefse](/source/Lefse) (Norwegian tortillas)

A half-teaspoon of hartshorn salt can substitute for one teaspoon of baking powder, and this is commonly done in Americanized recipes. However hartshorn salt is different from baking powder in that the goods baked with hartshorn salt are crispier, retain intricate designs better, and can be kept out in the open air for longer without becoming stale or hard.

Hartshorn salt and freshly-baked goods made from it smell of ammonia. When heated, the ammonia and carbon dioxide gases are released, and the smell eventually dissipates. The use of hartshorn may turn some ingredients green, such as sunflower seeds.

#### Safety concerns

Ammonia released during the baking process reacts with glucose and fructose to form intermediate molecules that in turn, react with [asparagine](/source/Asparagine) (an amino acid found in nuts, seeds, and whole grains) to form [acrylamide](/source/Acrylamide), a [carcinogen](/source/Carcinogen).[8][9]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm), ed. (1911). ["Hartshorn, Spirits of"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Hartshorn,_Spirits_of). *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)* (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Willich, A. F. M. (1802), "Harts' Horns", *Domestic Encyclopedia Or A Dictionary Of Facts, And Useful Knowledge*, vol. 2, B. McMillan

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Brown, Dr. O. Phelps (1878), "Venomous Insects. Tarantula, Scorpion, Hornet, Wasp, Bee, Gnat, Gad-Fly", *The Complete Herbalist*, Dr. O. Phelps Brown

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Brown, Dr. O. Phelps (1878), "Sunstroke", *The Complete Herbalist*, Dr. O. Phelps Brown

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Brown, Dr. O. Phelps (1878), "Stye (Hordeolum)", *The Complete Herbalist*, Dr. O. Phelps Brown

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Brown, Dr. O. Phelps (1878), "Animal Poisons: Fish and Serpents", *The Complete Herbalist*, Dr. O. Phelps Brown

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Davidson, Alan](/source/Alan_Davidson_(food_writer)) (1999), *Oxford Companion to Food*, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 372

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Amrein, Thomas M.; Schönbächler, Barbara; Escher, Felix; Amadò, Thomas M. (2004), "Acrylamide in gingerbread: critical factors for formation and possible ways for reduction", *Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry*, **52** (13): 4282–88, [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2004JAFC...52.4282A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JAFC...52.4282A), [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1021/jf049648b](https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fjf049648b), [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [15212481](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15212481)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Amrein, Thomas M.; Andres, Luca; Manzardo, Giuseppe G. G; Amadò, Renato (2006), "Investigations on the promoting effect of ammonium hydrogencarbonate on the formation of acrylamide in model systems", *Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry*, **54** (26): 10253–61, [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2006JAFC...5410253A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006JAFC...5410253A), [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1021/jf0625860](https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fjf0625860), [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [17177568](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17177568)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hartshorn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartshorn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartshorn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.