23 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:I have posted this many times on eG but here goes one more. In order to mimic sodium citrate, just add a teaspoon GOOD white vinegar to your sauce at the point when you are trying to melt the cheese. Voila. Done. No graininess regardless of the cheese you use.
My logic, the point of sodium citrate is salt and acid. I think that most cheese has enough salt, so I just add a little acid.
That's not really how sodium citrate works. The point isn't to add salt or acid but rather to swap out calcium ions for sodium ions, making casein proteins become less strongly bonded and more water soluble. Adding vinegar or NaCl won't do anything in this regard. Sodium citrate is also a pH buffer, so it actually tends to increase the pH of cheese, improving its texture. As per ChefSteps, melting salts "tend to shift the pH upward, which improves the texture and stability of molten cheese. Overly acidic melted cheese is unstable, with an unpleasant texture, so experienced cheese processors target a pH between 5.2 and 6.3 for the best results."
