mark984

I wanted to make the recipe as-is as a starting point, and then work from there. I did see your post and appreciate your suggestion. I'll give it a try.

Just to update everyone, I received my Sodium Citrate, and successfully made Mac & Cheese. The sauce was a bit thin, but other than that, I would call it a success. Not at all sour, and silky smooth. Thanks again to all that commented.

I heard back from WillPowder this morning and they confirmed that what I have is indeed mislabeled calcium chloride. They are sending me a replacement jar of sodium citrate, and hopefully I'll meet with mac & cheese success later this week. Good call to those who suggested it was calcium chloride.

Just to update everyone, I'm thinking that this is indeed Calcium Chloride. Yesterday afternoon, I decided to take a few more pictures to illustrate what the granules actually look like. I left the lid off of the container while I transferred and viewed the pictures. When I went back to the jar to cover it, I noticed that the granules were glistening with moisture. As I understand it, Calcium Chloride is hygroscopic, while Sodium Citrate is not (at least, not according to Wikipedia). I e-mailed some pictures to WillPowder, and they replied that they would look into it asap. In the meantime, I've ordered some more Sodium Citrate, and hope to try the recipe later this week. Thanks to those of you who suggested it might be the wrong thing. I'm glad I posted a picture. Otherwise, there would have been a lot more wasted cheese in my future.

As I understand it, Sodium Citrate can be used to control acidity for the purposes of spherification. I've never tried my hand at spherification though, so I don't know how exactly it plays into the process.

Thanks for your message. I do recognize that there is a difference between sodium citrate and citric acid. That is why I purchased sodium citrate. I have attached a photo of what I purchased in case it is of help. Are you saying that the Will Powder brand of sodium citrate is bad? I thought it was mentioned in Modernist Cuisine as a reputable brand. I think I read somewhere that trisodium citrate is actually preferred. Is this perhaps the wrong thing? What should I buy instead? Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi, I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I didn't find anything after a quick search. I just tried my hand at Modernist Mac & Cheese tonight. It came out ridiculously sour. Here's what I used: 265 g water 11 g sodium citrate (Will Powder Sodium Citrate) 240 g Monterrey Jack Approx 40 g Sharp Cheddar (left over bit that I needed to use somehow) I followed the instructions and made a nice sauce out of it, but it was crazy sour. This is the second time that I have tried this receipe, and the second time that I ended with this result. The first time I used all sharp Cheddar, and assumed that was the problem. However, I'm thinking that Monterrey Jack is mild enough to not cause a problem. Anyone know what I am doing wrong? I apologize if this is a dumb question. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.