Citric Acid is a weak organic acid; a natural preservative found in living cells both animal and plant, with the highest concentrations found in lemons and limes, where it can comprise as much as 8% of the dry weight of the fruit. It is commonly used to add an acidic (sour) taste to foods and soft drinks. This sourness via fermentation is transferred into a white, crystallized powder.
In biochemistry, it is important as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle and therefore occurs in the metabolism of almost all living things. It also serves as an environmentally benign cleaning agent and acts as an antioxidant.
Citric Acid is a versatile powder that can be used in a multitude of ways:
• as a lemon juice substitute in recipes (1/4 tsp of citric acid = 1tbs of lemon juice)
• as a natural preservative agent
• to add an acidic (sour) taste to foods and soft drinks in general
• to acidify drinking water (decreasing its pH and improving the solubility of oxytetracycline and doxycycline)
• contributes to the prevention of bacterial growth