Author Topic: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?  (Read 49553 times)

Wateetons

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Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« on: February 16, 2009, 07:41:40 AM »
Friends,
I enjoy using grocerystore or household products as substitutes for 'official' cheese/sausage making ingredients. For example: gipsum for making tofu, buttermilk/yoghurt for acidifying milk (and probably even sausage), rind of a storebought brie for making camembert, a piece of old sausage to acidify a new one.
My question: is there something that can be used as a substitute for Cacl2, or alternatively, can Cacl2 be found elsewhere than the cheesemakersstore?   

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2009, 09:50:59 AM »
Yes, all home brew or wine making shops will carry CaCl2. If you're concerned with it as a natural ingredient, it's all natural, I mean it is a chemical but water is a chemical.

Wateetons

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2009, 06:13:06 AM »
Thanks. It's not so much the 'chemical aspect' that I try to get around, and I don't mind going to the winemakers shop. Instead, for me it's rather the joy of trying to find some common product or procedure to do pretty much the same. Maybe there's none, than that's too bad, no harm done. If there is: excellent. I know for example that Cacl2 is used in sportsdrinks and to put on the streets to prevent slipperyness in the winter. Wouldn't it be cool if adding some Gatorate to your milk would work equally well to CaCl2? (it propably won't because its too diluted, but you get the idea)

So, any ideas?

(I'm quite aware that this is a somewhat odd question)

wharris

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2009, 05:20:55 PM »
I hear that snips and snails and puppy dog tails do the trick. 


oh wait.... thats a different recipe.


;)

Wateetons

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2009, 06:14:03 PM »
being Dutch I had to google that  :P

ThisDameCooks

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2012, 05:31:41 PM »
Alum is a substitute for calcium chloride.  Alum is used to crisp cucumbers during pickling process.  Also, rock salt can be used in place of calcium chloride.  Just googling "calcium chloride substitutes" will get you started.  I too enjoy the challenge of making something with what's at hand.

T-Bird

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2012, 11:31:23 PM »
Rock salt is SODIUM cloride. All the rock salt I have ever seen, has no calcium ions in it at all.

tinysar

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2012, 10:03:08 AM »
Yes, you can substitute NaCl for CaCl2 in some applications - eg. NaCl will still work as a (weaker) dessicant, or as an ice salt, or a pickling salt. However, since the point of adding CaCl2 in cheesemaking is to add calcium ions (to aid coagulation), and NaCl doesn't have any of those, it isn't going to be a good substitute for this purpose.

Caseus

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2012, 03:39:09 AM »
The Pickle Crisp jar I have in my cupboard lists ingredients as "Calcium Chloride".   It's formed into little round balls, but the ingredients do not list any binders or other adjuncts.  Does anyone know if it is pure CaCl2? 

How about water content?  To make a 30% solution, 30 grams of CaCl2 and add distilled water to make 100 ml (being careful of heat as the reaction is exothermic), does it need to be anhydrous CaCl2? 

I'm guessing that the cheesemaking suppliers who mix up 30% solutions don't bother to dessicate the granular CaCL2 before mixing it with water, so it probably doesn't matter since what they sell seems to work fine.

linuxboy

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2012, 03:55:56 AM »
Quote
Does anyone know if it is pure CaCl2? 
Yes, it is.
Quote
does it need to be anhydrous CaCl2? 
No. Using anhydrous will enable you to achieve exact calculations, so you would get 30% instead of 29.8%. Doesn't matter in practice.

knipknup

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2012, 04:11:35 AM »
The msds for Prestone driveway heat lists it as cacl2. $8 for about 5 pounds. However, it also has trace amounts of potassium chloride and strontium chloride. http://www.pentalonline.com/docs/msds/MSDS_Prestone_DrivewayHeat.pdf

Not sure I'm brave enough to use it in my cheese, but it is probably ok.

linuxboy

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2012, 04:16:56 AM »
Use USP grade that's suitable as food. Stuff costs like $5/lb for that purity level.

NRG

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2012, 11:02:37 PM »
I have been busy reading this forum and Gianaclis book. Thanks to Pav for putting me on that book. It is proving very useful.

I hope this post isn't considered thread necromancy. It started quite awhile ago with the most recent addition 8 months ago. BUT, I think, I have something to add.

The OP asked for a common locally available substitute for CaCl2. Specially so they did not have to order the (relatively) expensive solutions from the sellers.

I'll bet many of us have Calcium Citrate pills in our cabinets. I sure do. This form of calcium is more similar to that found naturally in milk. I have also read that there are special bacteria for making diacetyl that eat citrate leaving us with a nice buttery flavor.

So, I ask. Has anyone tried using Calcium Citrate instead of Calcium Chloride when using these diacetyl producing bacteria for a hopped up buttery flavor in their cheeses?



Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2012, 11:07:54 PM »
There is one great substitute, buy raw farm milk.  Then you won't need it. ;)  I have used calcium carbonate to change the Ph of wine I used to make a Merlot Colby.  Worked fine.
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linuxboy

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Re: Calcium Chloride - Substitutes?
« Reply #14 on: December 30, 2012, 11:21:10 PM »
Quote
So, I ask. Has anyone tried using Calcium Citrate instead of Calcium Chloride when using these diacetyl producing bacteria for a hopped up buttery flavor in their cheeses?
Yep, what do want to know?