Citric Acid

What Is Citric Acid?

Citric Acid is an acid found in citrus foods and is relatively weak when it comes to its strength. Lemons and limes are the obvious proponents of a lot of citric acid, but other fruits and vegetables have it as well. The tart, lip-puckering flavor of citric acid is very unique in flavor but also does have tremendous impact when used correctly.

Citric Acid Uses

For culinary purposes citric acid is used in two primary ways.

The first is its use as a way to impact flavor. It can be used to better the flavor of a drink, used in dry blend seasonings, added to candies or snacks and can even be used to improve the flavor of bread.

Need more inspiration? Try our Sour Strawberry Lime Popsicles Recipe.

The other main use is its preservation ability and what it does to impact food and make it last longer.

The PH of citric acid is 2.2, which is slightly higher than lime or lemon juice. It can be used to increase the acidity of a product and reduce the growth of bacteria. It can support increase when ripening products and can even be used to target a certain PH in other products such as beer.

Our Citric Acid Powder

Spiceology produces citric acid because of its versatility to any chef using it. The opportunities to impact not only flavor, but shelf life or relative outcome on a product make this an essential ingredient for any kitchen. You can even try it on your latest French Fries recipe. Be sure to get your own bottle of citric acid and open up the possibility previously not used in your kitchen.

Fun fact: A big part of citric acid being so popular for those in the food industry is due to its PH level. For preservation purposes, it is great because bacteria grow in a PH of 6.5-7. The much lower PH of citric acid allows the user to combat this while also not being too harsh on the rest of the ingredients in the recipe.