Sodium Alginate is extracted from brown seaweed. It is used as a stabilizer for ice cream, yogurt, cream, and cheese. It acts as a thickener and emulsifier for salad, pudding, jam, tomato juice, and canned products. It is a hydration agent for noodles, bread, cool and frozen products. In the presence of calcium and acid mediums, it forms resilient gels. It is a cold gelling agent that needs no heat to gel. It is most commonly used with calcium lactate or calcium chloride in the spherification process.
Calcium Lactate can be used together with calcium gluconate to form a calcium-rich product and is perfect for reverse spherification (dipped in sodium alginate bath) without adding any flavor at all to the end product. It is soluble in cold liquids and can be used with acidic, high alcohol, or fatty mediums.
