sodium citrate
Reddit take
Not enough linked mention summaries yet; the source excerpts below are the evidence.
Pros
- Get yourself some sodium citrate it acts as an emulsifying agent and will smooth it right out :)
- Just get sodium citrate. It’s cheap, readily available, and more reliable
- Skip the roux. Sodium Citrate is your friend. Or a few slices of American cheese (that contain the same emulsifier)
- Also cheese sauce doesn't reheat well, it will tend to split unless you have a stabilizer like sodium citrate.
- You can get sodium citrate for not much money (I last bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NF44F15?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title), and it will last many, many batches.
Cons
- Sodium citrate is tart and quite salty and so changes the flavor. Mustard or egg yolks would be better choices (still a flavor impact but avoids over salting) but you really shouldn't need an additional emulsifier at all.
Sentiment
9 positive (90%) · 0 mixed (0%) · 1 negative (10%)
Trust + time weighted score: +80% · raw score 80%
What redditors said (10 of 10)
Get yourself some sodium citrate it acts as an emulsifying agent and will smooth it right out :)
Just get sodium citrate. It’s cheap, readily available, and more reliable
Skip the roux. Sodium Citrate is your friend. Or a few slices of American cheese (that contain the same emulsifier)
Sodium citrate is tart and quite salty and so changes the flavor. Mustard or egg yolks would be better choices (still a flavor impact but avoids over salting) but you really shouldn't need an additional emulsifier at all.
Also cheese sauce doesn't reheat well, it will tend to split unless you have a stabilizer like sodium citrate.
You can get sodium citrate for not much money (I last bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NF44F15?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title), and it will last many, many batches.
If you're making the roux/cheese ahead of time, I'd add some Sodium Citrate. Heating, cooling and reheating cheese sauces can easily break them. The citrate will help to stabilize it.
The sodium citrate emulsifies the cheese and liquids, and the corn starch keeps it from getting chunky and globby as it starts to cool. I'll never make Mac without both again.
I agree - I even did a reheat test with three different techniques and SC was the best by far.
Or just sodium citrate alone--worth having on hand.
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