/ck/ - Food & Cooking

yeah so it turns out potassium citrate does work as an emulsifier.

i started with a 2tbsp:2tbsp butter:flour roux, then added 1c milk to make a bechamel. cooked until it began to coat the spoon but stopped before it thickened.
added 1 pound monterrey jack.
very stringy smooth consistency, i could pull ropes as long as my arm out of it.
i then added enough vinegary salsa until the cheese broke. gritty mouthfeel, no ropes.

i then added potassium citrate by the half teaspoon, stirred in, and waited 5 minutes.
i ended up adding 2 tsp potassium citrate.

the cheese gradually smoothed and oil was no longer separate from the protein. i didn't manage to get it ropey and stringy, but i imagine if i had not broken it, that could have happened? the emulsion it is now is different. i'm at a struggle for how to describe it. it's good, it's smooth. but it lacks cheese adhesion. it doesn't have any pull.
but there is no grittiness in the mouth. the fat is smooth and sort of melts on the tongue in a way that ice cream does.
when i lift it and let it fall, it forms sheets.

if you look on the back wall of the pot you can see the sort of gritty unmixed cheese, contrasted with the smooth flow from the spoon.
the surface appears like a once-broken cheese, somehow fixed. but there isn't a greasy feel on the tongue like you would expect. it tastes very good and feels good in the mouth.