TexturasCitras (Buffer Salt)

Good value for money compared to other offerings on Amazon (£6.91 for 600g). The tub is large but is only half-filled (correct amount of product). I use it to make cheese sauces which is does perfectly.

This is trisodium citrate - a useful chemical for fun modernist cooking experiments (for example as an acid buffer in spherification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherification) and essential for the classic Modernist Cuisine take on macaroni cheese http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/ - an easy recipe to dive into, and made possible by the ability of sodium citrate to emulsify the fatty molecules in the melted cheese into something quite phenomenally smooth and silky. I'm not sure I'll personally use it for much else, but great to have it in the larder.