When you're starting a cottage food business, one of the challenges is determining not only what ingredients you need but where to source them. You might not be sure how much you'll need of certain things, which makes it difficult to know if you should be buying it in bulk. One thing that many cottage food operators should invest in is citric acid from a reputable supplier. Here's a look at some of the many uses for citric acid in your cottage food kitchen.
Oxidation Barrier
As a cottage food business, you're often working by yourself when preparing ingredients for your products. When those ingredients include fresh fruits, the time involved in doing it on your own can allow for the fruit to oxidize and brown, which doesn't create the fresh, vibrant final product you're looking for.
Add a small amount of citric acid to a bucket of water, then place your peeled, sliced fruits into that water as you work. The citric acid will keep the fruit from browning, allowing you to do all of your prep and still have fruit that looks fresh and delicious in your final product.
Preservation
If you're incorporating things like jams, jellies, and spreads to your cottage food offerings, or if you've decided to offer home-canned fruits and tomato products, you'll want to make sure that you have citric acid on hand at all times.
In order for these products to be truly shelf-stable after canning and processing, the acidity level must be correct. Since many modern varieties of fruits and tomatoes are no longer as acidic as they used to be, adding a small amount of citric acid to each will help to ensure that they are still safe for water bath canning. Additionally, the citric acid in your jams, jellies, and fruit spreads will help to counter a bit of the sugar and enhance the flavor of the fruit.
Wine
In areas where cottage food bakers can also obtain a wine-producers license, you will find that citric acid is a must-have in your kitchen. When you make wines from low-acid fruits, the wine can often taste a little bit flat due to the lack of that acidic bite. For that reason, most fruit wines have a small amount of citric acid added to the mixture to help make the wine flavor pop. That citric acid component will brighten the flavors of the fruit and make the wine more enjoyable.
As you can see, it's in your best interest to find a citric acid supplier for your cottage food kitchen. Talk with a supplier near you today for more information.
Share20 May 2021
After our area was hit with a natural disaster, I realized that there were a few things we needed to do in order to make things better. For starters, we needed to work with food suppliers who understood how to make things quickly and efficiently, and we also needed to focus on making sure that we were able to streamline our daily routine. We were able to choose a food supplier who delivered rain and shine, and we even worked with them to sort out a few other details that were holding things up. Check out this blog for more information.