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Anthony’s Premium Sodium Citrate, 1.5 lb, Non GMO, Food Grade, Emulsifier
The Game-Changing Secret: Sodium Citrate
Want to know the secret professional chefs use to create ultra-creamy, never-grainy mac and cheese? It’s sodium citrate! This food-grade emulsifier is a total game-changer that transforms any cheese into a perfectly smooth sauce that never breaks, separates, or becomes lumpy.
This is an affiliate link. The press I’ve been using for years – it’s dishwasher safe and handles large cloves easily!
Another Great Product
Geedel Rotary Cheese Grater
Fresh Grated Cheese Makes All the Difference
Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that prevent smooth melting and can make your sauce grainy. Freshly grated cheese melts like a dream and creates that glossy, restaurant-quality finish. The difference is night and day!
This version uses both a roux and sodium citrate as emulsifiers. You could skip the roux, but you would probably need more sodium citrate then too.
Mac and Cheese with sodium citrate
Ingredients
- 16 oz cooked pasta
Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tsp all purpose flour
- 4 tsp sodium citrate
- 2-3 cups liquid of your choice (milk, cream, broth, pasta water, etc)
- 24 oz shredded cheese of your choice (We generally do cheddar, but also add other cheeses like sandwich slices or whatever is laying around before they expire)
Instructions
- Prepare pasta per the instructions on the box
Sauce
- Make a roux by constantly stirring the butter and flour over medium heat until it starts to brown (2-3 min)
- Slowly stir in the liquid, and increase heat to bring it to a boil (constantly stirring)
- Reduce heat to medium, and start adding the cheese (still constantly stirring)
- Stir in the seasonings of your choice (I generally just add black pepper and cayenne pepper). Be careful with adding salt, between the sodium citrate and all the cheese, it should already be pretty salty.
- Once the sauce is ready, stir in the cooked /drained pasta