Calcium chloride

Chlorure de calcium

What it is

Most of the world's calcium chloride is a by-product: the Solvay process makes soda ash and leaves this behind by the tonne, which is why the same salt melts ice on motorway bridges and firms tinned tomatoes. Cheesemakers add a trace to pasteurised milk because heating strips out the calcium that lets rennet knit a curd.

In the kitchen

Keep it strictly in the bath — 0.5 to 1 % in cold water — and rinse each sphere in clean water the moment it comes out, because the bitter metallic taste transfers in seconds. It pulls water from the air fast enough to turn to syrup in an open jar, so buy small and close it hard.

Goes with

Mango Olive Yogurt Tomato Cucumber Lemon

Same species

Calcium lactate gluconate Calcium lactate

Also used with

Iota carrageenan Low-acyl gellan gum

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