Citric Acid

Product Detail
50 grams of the finest quality Citric Acid Powder.

Description
Citric acid is a weak organic acid and it is a natural preservative and is also used to add an acidic or sour taste to foods and soft drinks. In biochemistry it is important as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle and therefore occurs in the metabolism of virtually all living things.

Citric acid exists in greater than trace amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables most notably citrus fruits. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid; it can constitute as much as 8% of the dry weight of these fruits.

At room temperature citric acid is a white crystalline powder.

The discovery of citric acid has been credited to the 8th century Iranian alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber). Medieval scholars in Europe were aware of the acidic nature of lemon and lime juices; such knowledge is recorded in the 13th century encyclopedia Speculum Majus (The Great Mirror) compiled by Vincent of Beauvais. Citric acid was first isolated in 1784 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele who crystallized it from lemon juice. Industrial-scale citric acid production began in 1890 based on the Italian citrus fruit industry.

In 1893 C. Wehmer discovered that Penicillium mold could produce citric acid from sugar. However microbial production of citric acid did not become industrially important until World War I disrupted Italian citrus exports.

Culinary Use:
As a food additive citric acid is used as a flavoring and preservative in food and beverages especially soft drinks. It is denoted by E number E330. Citrate salts of various metals are used to deliver those minerals in a biologically available form in many dietary supplements.

Citric acid can be added to ice cream to keep fat globules separate and can be added to recipes in place of fresh lemon juice as well. Citric acid is used along with sodium bicarbonate in a wide range of effervescent formulae both for ingestion (e.g. powders and tablets) and for personal care (e.g. bath salts bath bombs and cleaning of grease).

Citric acid is commonly employed in wine production as a substitute or improver where fruits containing little or no natural acidity are used. It is mostly used for inexpensive wines due to its low cost of production.

Medicinal Use
None Known

Excessive consumption is capable of eroding the tooth enamel.

sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid