Alka-Seltzer Is The Secret Addition For Silky Smooth Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce is a very tricky thing to perfect. It’s either too watery, too clumpy, too separated, or too thick. There are differing opinions on how to fix all these problems, including adding sodium citrate (the key to perfectly melty cheese), a little cream or milk, or a bit of cornstarch. But what if we told you that the best solution may actually be in your medicine cabinet? That’s right: Alka-Seltzer tabs aren’t just for indigestion! You can add Alka-Seltzer to your cheese sauce to make the most velvety, creamy version you’ve ever seen. Just be sure that the Alka-Seltzer tabs you plan to use don’t contain aspirin. 

If you’re scratching your head wondering how the heck the Alka-Seltzer tabs you have sitting with your Tylenol and ibuprofen will help you make a delicious cheese sauce, it really does sound confusing. But at the end of the day, it’s actually just simple chemistry! Alka-Seltzer tabs contain sodium citrate through a combination of baking soda and citric acid. Sodium citrate is a type of melting salt which helps emulsify and stabilize the cheese that’s melting so you don’t end up with a gooey, lumpy, inedible mess.

Once you’ve secured your flavor-free, aspirin-free Alka-Seltzer tabs (be sure to check the ingredients to triple check it does not have aspirin in it), you’re only minutes away from a delicious, melty, creamy cheese sauce. The Alka-Seltzer tab is one of only three ingredients required (well, four, if you count water). Let the tab dissolve in water until it has stopped fizzing. Then add some unsalted butter, melt it in the microwave, and slowly stir in the shredded cheese of your choice. Don’t worry, you can’t taste the Alka-Seltzer in the recipe. It just helps blend everything together perfectly. 

Some cheeses are definitely better than others when it comes to making homemade cheese sauce, but especially homemade nachos. You don’t want something that doesn’t shred, like a brie or a hard Parmigiano Reggiano. Instead, opt for a cheddar, a gouda, or even an American cheese (always one of the fan favorites). At the end of the day, we can thank Alka-Seltzer tabs, and more specifically, sodium citrate, for making the most delicious, creamy, gooey, dunk-able, spreadable cheese of our dreams.