Comparing E334 - L(+)-tartaric acid vs E331 - Sodium citrates
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Popular questions
Is tartaric acid bad for you?
No—L(+)-tartaric acid (E334) is approved for use in foods (e.g., EU E-number; FDA GRAS) and is considered safe at typical levels; very high intakes may cause stomach upset, and only the L(+)-form is used as an additive.
What is tartaric acid used for?
It’s used as an acidulant to add sourness and control pH, and as an antioxidant/sequestrant; it also partners with baking soda in leavening and is added to wine to adjust acidity.
How much tartaric acid to add to wine?
It depends on your must/wine’s pH and titratable acidity—bench trials are essential; as a rule of thumb, 1 g/L tartaric acid raises TA by about 1 g/L and can lower pH by ~0.1–0.3, with typical adjustments in the 0.5–2 g/L range subject to local regulations.
What does tartaric acid do?
It provides a sharp, tart flavor while regulating acidity, chelating metals, and limiting oxidation; in baking it reacts with sodium bicarbonate to release CO2, and in wine it helps set acid balance and stability.
What foods have tartaric acid?
It occurs naturally in grapes, wine, and tamarind (also in smaller amounts in some fruits), and as an additive it’s found in soft drinks, candies, jams/jellies, gelatin desserts, and baking powders/cream of tartar.
What is e331 in food?
E331 is sodium citrates—the mono-, di-, and trisodium salts of citric acid—used mainly as acidity regulators/buffers, sequestrants, and emulsifying salts in foods like soft drinks and processed cheese.
How are sodium citrates used in molecular gastronomy?
They’re used to adjust and buffer pH, chelate calcium, and act as an emulsifying salt—commonly to make ultra-smooth, meltable cheese sauces and to tune acidity/calcium levels for techniques like spherification and stabilizing foams.
What are sodium citrates degradation byproducts?
Under normal food use they’re stable; with strong heating/combustion they decompose to carbon oxides (CO2/CO) and sodium oxides (and related inorganic residues).
Why does sodium citrates burn?
It isn’t flammable; any “burning” sensation typically comes from irritation of skin, eyes, or mouth at high concentrations due to its mildly alkaline, saline nature, and on heating it decomposes rather than sustaining a flame.