- Form
- CaCl₂; food-grade solid
- Role
- Calcium source; firming
- Culinary use
- External bath for direct alginate setting
- Preparation
- Dissolve in bath water; match product form
- Handling
- Moisture-absorbing solid
CHEFSQUIRE
Functional Salts: Calcium, Citrates & Phosphates
Compare calcium sources, citrate forms and phosphate functions by exact ingredient identity and application.
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| Ingredient | Form | Role | Culinary use | Preparation | Handling | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CaCl₂; food-grade solid | Calcium source; firming | External bath for direct alginate setting | Dissolve in bath water; match product form | Moisture-absorbing solid | [1][2] | |
| CaCl₂·2H₂O; food-grade solid | Calcium source; firming | Form-specific calcium accounting | Water-soluble; weigh the supplied form | Confirm hydrate-equivalent assay | [1][2] | |
| Calcium lactate + gluconate mixture | Calcium delivery | Reverse spherification: calcium in the filling | Mix into filling; alginate in the bath | Obtain blend calcium and water data | [1][2] | |
| C₆H₅Na₃O₇ | Buffer; calcium sequestrant | Calcium and protein management in processed cheese | Water-soluble; measure final food pH | Keep assay and hydration basis explicit | [1][2][3] | |
| C₆H₅Na₃O₇·2H₂O | Buffer; sequestrant | Citrate supply with crystal water | Dissolve in water; check final pH | Store sealed, cool and dry | [1][2][3] | |
| Na₂HPO₄; named food grade | pH buffer; dairy stabilizer | Processed cheese and condensed milk; supplier-listed uses | Follow the selected product/process method | Keep orthophosphate and pyrophosphate distinct | [1][2] | |
| Na₄P₂O₇; hydrate not expressly named | Sequestration; buffering | Specialized processed-cheese formulation | Product-specific incorporation required | Keep dry; confirm current product data | [1][2] |
Form, assay and process conditions determine how a salt enters a formula. Keep compendial limits, supplier typical values and measurements under specific conditions separate. Confirm missing product data before quantitative substitution.
- Form
- CaCl₂·2H₂O; food-grade solid
- Role
- Calcium source; firming
- Culinary use
- Form-specific calcium accounting
- Preparation
- Water-soluble; weigh the supplied form
- Handling
- Confirm hydrate-equivalent assay
- Form
- Calcium lactate + gluconate mixture
- Role
- Calcium delivery
- Culinary use
- Reverse spherification: calcium in the filling
- Preparation
- Mix into filling; alginate in the bath
- Handling
- Obtain blend calcium and water data
- Form
- C₆H₅Na₃O₇
- Role
- Buffer; calcium sequestrant
- Culinary use
- Calcium and protein management in processed cheese
- Preparation
- Water-soluble; measure final food pH
- Handling
- Keep assay and hydration basis explicit
- Form
- C₆H₅Na₃O₇·2H₂O
- Role
- Buffer; sequestrant
- Culinary use
- Citrate supply with crystal water
- Preparation
- Dissolve in water; check final pH
- Handling
- Store sealed, cool and dry
- Form
- Na₂HPO₄; named food grade
- Role
- pH buffer; dairy stabilizer
- Culinary use
- Processed cheese and condensed milk; supplier-listed uses
- Preparation
- Follow the selected product/process method
- Handling
- Keep orthophosphate and pyrophosphate distinct
- Form
- Na₄P₂O₇; hydrate not expressly named
- Role
- Sequestration; buffering
- Culinary use
- Specialized processed-cheese formulation
- Preparation
- Product-specific incorporation required
- Handling
- Keep dry; confirm current product data
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Calcium chloride · anhydrous
- Form
- CaCl₂; food-grade solid
- Role
- Calcium source; firming
- Culinary use
- External bath for direct alginate setting
- Preparation
- Dissolve in bath water; match product form
- Handling
- Moisture-absorbing solid
- Identity and assay
- Anhydrous CaCl₂ has a formula weight of 110.99 g/mol and a minimum JECFA assay of 93%. Apply the purchased product’s assay when calculating salt mass.
- Calcium basis
- Salt assay describes CaCl₂ content. Dissolved free-calcium activity requires a separate measurement or a suitable chemical model.
- Direct setting
- Dissolve calcium chloride in an external water bath, then rinse the set spheres in fresh water. The calcium chloride hydrate and assay are unspecified for the Kitchen Alchemy preparation; an anhydrous-product bath dose requires the actual product composition.
- Sensory context
- Rinsing reduces the bitterness Kitchen Alchemy attributes to calcium chloride. Concentration-dependent sensory thresholds and differences between hydration forms are unquantified for that preparation.
Calcium chloride · dihydrate
- Form
- CaCl₂·2H₂O; food-grade solid
- Role
- Calcium source; firming
- Culinary use
- Form-specific calcium accounting
- Preparation
- Water-soluble; weigh the supplied form
- Handling
- Confirm hydrate-equivalent assay
- Identity and assay
- Calcium chloride dihydrate has a formula weight of 147.02 g/mol and a JECFA assay range of 99.0–107.0% expressed as CaCl₂·2H₂O equivalent. An equivalent assay can exceed 100%; it is distinct from an as-sold water percentage.
- Preparation
- Calcium chloride dihydrate dissolves freely in water and is deliquescent: it absorbs atmospheric moisture. Use the supplier’s storage conditions and current assay.
- Application boundary
- A direct-spherification calcium bath holds the spheres before a fresh-water rinse. For the Kitchen Alchemy preparation, the calcium chloride hydrate is unspecified; a dihydrate-specific bath amount requires the actual product and a validated recipe.
Calcium lactate gluconate
- Form
- Calcium lactate + gluconate mixture
- Role
- Calcium delivery
- Culinary use
- Reverse spherification: calcium in the filling
- Preparation
- Mix into filling; alginate in the bath
- Handling
- Obtain blend calcium and water data
- Mixture identity
- Jungbunzlauer’s calcium lactate gluconate combines calcium lactate and calcium gluconate. Its blend ratio and numeric calcium assay are unspecified. Commercial mixtures require their own composition data.
- Yogurt example
- For Penn College’s yogurt spheres, combine 4 g calcium lactate gluconate with 200 g yogurt. Make a separate bath with 7.5 g sodium alginate and 1,500 g distilled water. Blend the bath for 5–10 minutes, rest it to release air, hold the yogurt portion in the bath for up to two minutes, and rinse it in water.
- Amount basis
- For the yogurt preparation, 4 ÷ 200 × 100 = 2.0% relative to yogurt; 4 ÷ 204 × 100 ≈ 1.96% of the combined filling. The teaching-recipe ratios use an unspecified commercial blend and assay.
- Taste and transfer
- Jungbunzlauer describes its product as neutral tasting. Sensory-panel and comparator results are unavailable for the yogurt preparation. Other liquids and commercial blends require their own dissolution and setting checks.
Trisodium citrate · anhydrous
- Form
- C₆H₅Na₃O₇
- Role
- Buffer; calcium sequestrant
- Culinary use
- Calcium and protein management in processed cheese
- Preparation
- Water-soluble; measure final food pH
- Handling
- Keep assay and hydration basis explicit
- Identity and assay
- Anhydrous trisodium citrate has a formula weight of 258.07 g/mol. Its JECFA assay minimum is 99.0% on a dried basis, with an anhydrous loss-on-drying limit of 1% at 180 °C to constant weight.
- Function
- Citrate binds calcium and can alter casein dispersion in processed cheese. Casein supplies the protein film around fat droplets. Cheese composition, pH, heat and shear govern texture; calcium binding alone cannot predict melt.
- pH and preparation
- Trisodium citrate buffers pH, sequesters calcium and dissolves freely in water. Establish the final pH in the actual food after mixing; a fixed citrate addition supplies no universal pH endpoint.
- Application scope
- Calcium and protein fraction measurements in Gouda-based processed cheese apply to the tested cheese at controlled pH. A general cheese-sauce dose and performance equivalence between anhydrous and dihydrate forms require separate testing.
Trisodium citrate · dihydrate
- Form
- C₆H₅Na₃O₇·2H₂O
- Role
- Buffer; sequestrant
- Culinary use
- Citrate supply with crystal water
- Preparation
- Dissolve in water; check final pH
- Handling
- Store sealed, cool and dry
- Product basis
- Cargill’s trisodium citrate dihydrate has a formula weight of 294.10 g/mol, assay ≥99.0% on an anhydrous basis and water 10.0–13.0%. Treat the assay and water figures as supplier typical guidance, with specification status unresolved. Confirm current product data before formulation.
- Hydration arithmetic
- For ideal pure forms, 258.07 ÷ 294.10 ≈ 0.8775 g anhydrous citrate equivalent per gram of dihydrate. The ideal anhydrous-equivalent ratio requires separate correction for the actual assay and water basis; it establishes neither sensory nor processing equivalence.
- Storage and taste
- Store Cargill’s trisodium citrate dihydrate in sealed containers at low temperature and humidity to limit caking. Cargill describes a slight saline taste; a finished-dish sensory threshold is unspecified.
- Culinary pH control
- In direct alginate work, check the food’s pH after citrate addition and observe setting in the actual calcium bath. Citrate’s buffering and calcium-binding effects act within the same mixture; pH alone cannot establish available calcium.
Disodium hydrogen orthophosphate · anhydrous
- Form
- Na₂HPO₄; named food grade
- Role
- pH buffer; dairy stabilizer
- Culinary use
- Processed cheese and condensed milk; supplier-listed uses
- Preparation
- Follow the selected product/process method
- Handling
- Keep orthophosphate and pyrophosphate distinct
- Product and assay
- Innophos Disodium Phosphate Anhydrous (Food) has unspecified numeric assay and water limits. Obtain the product’s assay and water specification for a mass-based formulation.
- Application
- Innophos names processed cheese, condensed milk and instant pudding as applications for its anhydrous disodium phosphate. Dose and processing conditions require the chosen product and food.
- Cheese measurements
- Disodium phosphate, disodium pyrophosphate, hexametaphosphate and trisodium citrate underwent separate tests in processed cheese. Measured calcium and protein fractions apply to the tested cheese and extraction procedure; general sauce performance and free-calcium values require separate measurements.
- Form control
- Calculate anhydrous Na₂HPO₄ and hydrated commercial grades using their respective formula masses and assays.
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate · AAKO Food powder
- Form
- Na₄P₂O₇; hydrate not expressly named
- Role
- Sequestration; buffering
- Culinary use
- Specialized processed-cheese formulation
- Preparation
- Product-specific incorporation required
- Handling
- Keep dry; confirm current product data
- Identity
- AAKO tetrasodium pyrophosphate, also called tetrasodium diphosphate, has CAS 7722-88-5 and formula Na₄P₂O₇. Its hydrate is unspecified; confirm the supplied form before a hydrate-sensitive calculation.
- Supplier data
- AAKO’s typical properties dated 10 February 2026 are Na₄P₂O₇ content ≥96.0%, P₂O₅ content 53.3 ± 0.5%, and pH 10.0–10.6 for a 1% solution. The solution’s percentage convention and the assay method are unspecified. Typical properties leave measured lot composition and finished-food pH to separate determination.
- Handling and application
- AAKO describes sequestration, buffering and emulsifying functions for its tetrasodium pyrophosphate. Keep the product cool, ventilated and protected from moisture. A kitchen dissolution protocol and dairy dose require product-specific testing.
- Processed-cheese measurements
- TSPP concentration affected meltability in pasteurized process Cheddar at controlled pH: meltability fell, then rose as concentration increased across the experimental range. The non-monotonic response applies to those processing conditions; equivalence between the AAKO product and the tested material is unverified.
- Chemical distinction
- Tetrasodium pyrophosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate have different sodium and hydrogen stoichiometry. Select the exact salt and grade in a product-specific formula; a generic pyrophosphate label leaves that identity unresolved.