I found only two sources in Brussels for “citrate de sodium”:
- pharmacy: €50 for 250g
- in a packet of lemon chicken flavoring in an Asian shop
I’m not going to pay €50 to a pharmacist in order to make a smoother macaroni and cheese. I’m also not interested in bringing in flavored Asian sauces. One option would be to go to the American section of a large grocery store and buy a Kraft mac & cheese kit. Fuck that. I boycott Kraft Heinz. Probably would not find Velvita, but if I did it’s a bit off to be making mac & cheese from scratch and then having to resort to a kit of sorts anyway.
Is there a better option?
It seems fondu with cheese is a thing here. How are people emulsifying their cheese for that?
Update: it’s apparently European additive “E331” which groups 3 different things. Are they about the same for emulsifying cheese? Note as well that it’s not in the emulsifier grouping of additives for some reason.
Personally I emulsify my cheese fondue with a bit of cornstarch mixed in white wine. Do you absolutely 100% need sodium citrate to make mac and cheese? It seems a bit overkill to me. If you do use cornstarch, make sure you mix it in some cold water (aka make a slurry). If you dump cornstarch in a sauce it’ll clump up and ruin everything.
My mac and cheese approximation consists in a liquidy béchamel sauce with a handful of cheese of the day. Perhaps try your recipe without sodium citrate and see if you like it?
I use cornstarch in stir-fries quite a bit by dissolving in sherry. It’s a good thickener. I didn’t realise it could emulsify cheese. I came across a post or article recently that mentioned cornstarch for mac and cheese but I was skeptical. Maybe I should try it.
I have never used sodium citrate. I was just reading about it because my mac & cheese always comes out as a clumpy mess.