Reddit reviews Pure Sodium Citrate ⊘ Non-GMO ❤ Gluten-Free ☮ Vegan ✡ OU Kosher Certified (Molecular Gastronomy) - 400g/14oz
We found 22 Reddit comments about Pure Sodium Citrate ⊘ Non-GMO ❤ Gluten-Free ☮ Vegan ✡ OU Kosher Certified (Molecular Gastronomy) - 400g/14oz. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
100% Food Grade (beware cheap industrial grade products not meant for human consumption)Excellent emulsifier for melted cheese (prevents separation and oily consistency)Use as a pH buffer or sequestrant for Spherification of liquids✡ Highest Quality Assured by Strict Orthodox Union Certification StandardsPerfect for Molecular Gastronomy and Modernist Cooking applications
Here is what you're going to do: you're going to cheat.
First, buy Sodium Citrate. Sodium citrate is a very powerful emulsifier, and will let you make cheese sauce of a perfect consistency with no guesswork, using just cheese and, well, that's pretty much it. The result is a sauce where the cheese flavor is not covered up by milk or butter.
There are a lot of recipes that you can find online using sodium citrate, but in my experience the best is this: boil 1lb of dry pasta to just shy of al dente in salted water, drain but reserve the pasta liquid, add 1-1.5 cups of the pasta liquid back in, add 1Tbsp sodium citrate, then gradually, mixing as you go, add 1lb of shredded cheese. Use whatever cheese or combination of cheeses you like, use more cheese if you want a saucier mac and less cheese if you want a less saucy mac. You'll probably need to add more liquid--if you do, use beer, wine or the pasta liquid, and only add a bit at a time. Mix everything up well over low heat and you'll get a perfectly creamy mac and cheese with intense cheese flavor. You can also add spices and other flavors--I like a little hot sauce, a little garlic powder, a little paprika and a teaspoon or two of brown sugar.
This sauce will never, ever break. You can try your best to break it but it won't happen, and if it does just add another pinch of sodium citrate, heat it up, mix it together and problem solved. So stick it in a casserole dish, top it with bread crumbs or cheese, and bake it just the same way you would a normal mac and cheese!
'sup mofos, y'all ready?!
one of my all-time fave snacks pre-keto used to be a warm Auntie Anne's pretzel from the stand at the mall. this recipe is a surprisingly truthful approximation of the taste/texture (minus the grease) and definitely achieves that crisp but flexible bread-y texture that we all crave from a quality pretzel.
i call my dipping sauce "bowling alley cheese" because it reminds me of that particular variety of neon-orange nacho cheese that is traditionally served at your finer bowling establishments. ;)
these pretzels are pretty yummy on their own but dipping them into the cheese really catapults them from good to great. they're also quite simple to make and they'll be an easy sell to kids & non-keto'ers.
ingredients:
pretzels:
"bowling alley" cheese sauce:
directions:
cheese sauce:
((macros))
> makes 4 servings of pretzels & sauce.
> (PS: this cheese dough is mild enough in flavor that you can modify it and do a sweet version too; just skip the cheese sauce & Italian herbs, season pretzels with cinnamon & butter, then melt down some dark/keto-friendly chocolate for dippies.)
Just a tip, I recently discovered the wonders of sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt. It lets you melt cheese in a saucepan without the cheese separating; it becomes a very smooth sauce that you can then pour over nachos. The best part about it is that it's very easy to make and lets you use whatever kind of cheese you like without resorting to velveeta or cornstarch and evaporated milk, or anything artificial. A big bag of it is $11 on amazon and it lasts forever
Since I didn't see anyone mention this here, I figure I ought to:
If you like the texture of melted Velveeta (and, let's be real, who doesn't), get on Amazon and by a bag of food-grade Sodium Citrate.
Here's a link. it seems expensive, but one bag will last you for a very long time.
This stuff is the chemical compound in stuff like Velveeta and Kraft slices thq t makes it melt so well. Mix about 14 grams (about 3 teaspoons) of the stuff to half a bottle of beer, bring to a boil, mix in about a pound of any freshly shredded cheese, and then blend with an emulsion blender.
Bam, perfect cheese sauce.
The last time I did this, I did exactly what I said above, and added 1 pound of taco spiced beef and a can of Rotel, and it vanished quickly.
Let me be clear: I have no problems with Velveeta, it's great. That said, this stuff allows you to get Velveeta like melt out of ANY cheese you want, or any mixture of cheeses, and that's awesome.
A roux based sauce is not the best way to go, although it can be ok with more milk to thin it out and really sharp cheddar to keep the flavor focused, but sodium citrate is the way to the sauce you are describing. It is cheap, easy to source and stable for bloody ever.
Meat glue and sodium citrate.
Black garlic.
Maverick dual probe wireless thermometer. You can stick 1 probe in the oven or smoker, 1 probe in the meat, then clip the wireless monitor to your pocket. When the meat hits your target temp, it beeps. If the meat temp or cooking temp varies outside the range you set, it beeps.
Turner.
Baking steel. Works better than a baking stone for making pizza.
Mortar & pestle. Food dehydrator.
Water oven.
Weber Smokey Mountain 18.5.
It's easy to buy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BLPNMYY
I've been really going down the rabbit hole with cheese sauces since I started making beer cheese dip for Oktoberfest a few years ago. The things I've learned are:
This all goes for creamy mac & cheese and sauce but I did a baked mac 'n beer cheese for Oktoberfest this year (topped with homemade marble rye bread crumbs) that was phenomenal. All I did was take that creamy recipe, drop it in a 9" x 13" pan, top it with the bread crumbs, and bake it at high heat for 15 minutes or so just to brown up the topping. My advice for doing this baked version is to use more roux and less milk/beer than you would normally. It set up into a delicious baked loaf of cheese and pasta without any egg or other binder. The result was super rich and flavorful.
I'm seconding /u/might_be_a_troll here. Get some sodium citrate on amazon and then follow this recipe. All you need for a sauce is cheese, liquid, and the sodium citrate. For liquid try stock, wine, or beer instead of water.
You can get it by Monday on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Citrate-Non-GMO-Molecular-Gastronomy/dp/B00BLPNMYY
Get some sodium citrate and use this recipe for silky mac and cheese.
It is slightly harder than Kraft and dirties a few more dishes, but infinitely better and more fun as you can choose the cheese. My favorite is to use a white sharp cheddar cheese and smoked gouda.
Fun times can also be had by using pepperjack cheese and cheddar to basically make fresh nacho cheese sauce. If you're spice head you can use habeñero-jack.
EDIT: I forgot the best part of this cheese sauce. It actually reheats perfectly! You can make a batch of the sauce ahead of time and use it for several days afterwards so you just have boil pasta and add the previously made sauce.
I doubt "real" cheese will melt like you are hoping without some help (evaporated milk + starch or sodium citrate).
I had a hard time making any kind of stable cheese sauce until I ordered some sodium citrate. Sprinkle it in with the cheese (3-5% by weight) and the cheese melts instead of just decomposing, and stays stable in its softened state.
Online of course
You just used too much probably, a little goes a long way and if you overdo it you get the sourness.edit: misreadIt's a night and day difference over bechamel or a Kraft packet imo.
What exactly do you mean by 'healthy?'
Is it about calorie reduction or getting more nutrients? Or both?
A very simple, tasty one is roasted cauliflower. Cauliflower really benefits from browning. Preferably roasting. Just wash and dry it (thoroughly), cut into equally sized pieces, whether it be bite size or "steaks," toss in olive oil, salt & pepper (and garlic if you want), spread evenly on a roasting pan, but don't crowd it too much, and roast in the oven on the middle rack or higher at about 425-450F until brown... even nearly black in a few places. It's so simple and delicious.
It makes a great soup too, just blend it with either veg or chicken stock and either some fresh parsley or thyme.
Another veg that does well with char is broccoli. Steam, blanch (heavily salt your blanching or steaming liquid) or microwave (if you must) the cut broccoli stalks until about half done, drain and dry. Toss in olive oil, salt, minced garlic and chili flakes and grill on very high heat or broil until slightly charred. You won't believe how good it is.
Some great books for veg dishes are:
Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Tender by Nigel Slater (this one has a great chocolate beet cake)
The Art Of Simple Food II by Alice Waters (So many simple, classic veg preparations in this one.)
--
Regarding Mac & Cheese, here is page from Modernist Cuisine at Home:
http://i.imgur.com/E4dd4lQ.jpg
It involves using Sodium Citrate. Calm down! Don't be afraid. It's a type of salt derived from citrus fruits. If you like to cook with cheese this stuff will be your best friend. The only issue is you don't need very much of it, so you will need an accurate scale that can handle very small weights, but they're not that expensive and it'll pay for itself quickly in the amount you'll likely save in cheese costs, because.....
What it does is it helps emulsify the fats and solids of cheese when it melts and it can be used with just about every type of cheese that can melt, so that means you can use it to emulsify multiple types of cheeses at the same time. Why this matters for you? If you're trying to reduce calories you can mix your favorite cheeses with some lower calorie cheeses (like drained cottage cheese) and still end up with a really creamy sauce without having to add cream or butter. This stuff doesn't make Pasta & Cheese "healthy" but it does help you reduce the caloric value of a cheese dish without sacrificing texture... in fact it improves it.
Check it out: http://youtu.be/gOLgLi5ZJOY
Sounds to me like you need some sodium citrate in your life.
http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/melty-queso-dip/
https://www.amazon.com/Citrate-Gluten-Free-Certified-Molecular-Gastronomy/dp/B00BLPNMYY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1527687722&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=sodium+citrate&psc=1
I got you fam.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BLPNMYY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_Ss.hDbW52N8K5
Just through Amazon, specifically here. At 11g/batch, 400g will last me a while! Watch out for the 2oz packages, they're $5/oz rather than the linked product that's $1/oz!
Sodium citrate is an emulsifier. I got mine at Amazon.com.
An emulsifier is a agent that can bond two different substances that normally wouldn't bond like oil and water. In this case it bonds cheese and water. People often think it help things melt. That isn't really accurate. In this case it turn cheese and water (or beer or cider or white wine) into a cheese sauce by bonding cheese and water molecules together. Eggs are another emulsifier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2JSiyolnwo
Also if you can find the episode of Good Eats (Episode: EA1D10) Mayo Clinic, Alton Brown explains it really well.
I use this brand, which I got at Amazon, but if you search for sodium citrate at Amazon there's lots of other brands. I bought it about a year ago and still have some left.
Here's Modernist Cuisine's melty queso dip, using sodium citrate, and here's their macaroni and cheese. I've made the mac and cheese before using cauliflower as a substitute for noodles, it's pretty good!
Amazon my good man
It's not going to be the actual recipe, but I'd try to use the modernist mac and cheese recipe as a starting place, because it's so simple and easy.
Basically, sodium citrate is an amazing emulsifier of cheese. Commercial American cheeses typically use sodium phosphate, which is essentially equivalent. You can basically just combine water/milk/beer, sodium citrate, and cheese, and end up with high quality homemade velveeta in 5-10 minutes. You can easily scale up the recipe; it's 100 parts cheese, 93 parts liquid, and 4 parts sodium citrate.
12 oz Allagash White
13 oz Cheddar
.5 oz Sodium Citrate
allspice + cayenne to taste
Shred cheddar.
Put beer in saucepan on medium heat.
Add sodium citrate.
Add cheese, stirring until it dissolves into the sauce.
Season with salt, allspice and cayenne to taste.
Sodium Citrate is your friend.