Smooth Cheese Sauce Can Be Made With Aspirin-Free Alka-Seltzer
The cooking site Serious Eats describes a smooth cheese sauce recipe that uses aspirin-free Alka-Seltzer tablets in place of the emulsifying salt sodium citrate. The sauce is made in a microwave in a few minutes.
A smooth, stretchy cheese sauce can be made at home with aspirin-free Alka-Seltzer tablets, according to the cooking site Serious Eats. The method is meant for people who want their favourite melting cheese to turn into a sauce as even as processed cheese, without ordering sodium citrate separately. The source says the sauce takes less than five minutes.
Why cheese sauce tends to split
When natural cheese is heated with water, it often separates into lumps and pools of oil or water. During cheesemaking, milk proteins curdle into insoluble, calcium-rich curds, so they do not blend evenly into water. An emulsifier helps, such as starch or emulsifying salts, including sodium citrate. It swaps calcium for sodium to form sodium caseinate, which dissolves better, so the proteins can absorb more water. Processed cheese is made the same way.
What Alka-Seltzer does
The aspirin-free tablet contains sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate and anhydrous citric acid. In water they react and release carbon dioxide, and the reaction produces sodium citrate.
The recipe
You need 60 ml of water, two aspirin-free Alka-Seltzer tablets, 30 g of unsalted butter and 150 g of grated melting cheese such as cheddar, Gruyère, Swiss or provolone-type cheese. Optionally, add pickled jalapeño liquid, mustard or cayenne pepper.
- Stir the tablets into the water and wait until the fizzing stops, about a minute.
- Melt the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
- Add the cheese and heat, stirring every 30 seconds, until it melts and begins to bubble.
- Stir until smooth, add seasonings and let the sauce thicken for 1–2 minutes.
Important warning
Only a tablet without aspirin may be used, often sold as "Alka-Seltzer Gold". The version containing aspirin must not be used for the sauce, because it may pose a health risk, and heating may intensify its effect. Check the ingredient list for allergens as well.
