Potassium Sorbate
Potassium Sorbate is a naturally occurring potassium salt that is used extensively in food preservation.
When potassium sorbate is dissolved in acidic water (pH below 4.2, ideally in the pH 3.X range), it ionizes to form sorbic acid, which is effective against numerous micro-organisms such as molds, yeasts and bacteria.
WINE STABILIZER:
Potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will render any surviving yeast incapable of multiplying. Yeast living at that moment can continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation.
When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with sodium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines, and some hard ciders but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.
|
Alcohol level (%) |
Potassium sorbate (mg/L) |
|
10 |
150 |
|
11 |
125 |
|
12 |
100 |
|
13 |
75 |
|
14 |
50 |
FOOD PRESERVING:
It is widely used in preserving margarine, yogurt, pie fillings, icings, baking mixes, cheeses, icings, salted fish, fruit products and other foods that come in packages.
Potassium sorbate has been cleared for use and approved as a food preservative (E202) . You can easily make your own potassium sorbate preservative to use at home.
STEP 1: Pour 3 parts (per volume) of water into a clean bowl. Measure 1 part of potassium sorbate and add it to the water
STEP 2: Stir the mixture for about 10 minutes or until the potassium sorbate has been dissolved. Transfer the mixture into a clean container or jar and store it at room temperature. You now have 25 percent (by volume) potassium sorbate solution, which you can use to preserve your foods. You may store this 25% solution for later use.
STEP 3: Determine the required/recommended Potassium Sorbate preservative concentration for a particular product:
| Product to preserve | % Potassium Sorbate (undiluted) |
ml of 25% Potassium Sorbate solution per liter/kg of product to preserve |
Resulting overall grams of Pot.Sorb. per liter/kg of product |
|
Fruit juice |
0.1-0.2 | 4ml - 8ml | 1g - 2g |
| Cheese | 0.2 - 0.3 | 8ml - 12ml | 2g - 3g |
| Beverages | 0.1 - 0.2 | 4ml - 8ml | 1g - 2g |
| Dried fruit | 0.02 - 0.04 | 0.8ml - 1.6ml | 0.2g - 0.4g |
| Vegetable salads | 0.02 - 0.1 | 0.8ml - 4ml | 0.2g - 1g |
| Confections | 0.05 - 0.1 | 0.2ml - 4ml | 0.5g - 1g |
| Pie fillings | 0.05 - 0.1 | 0.2ml - 4ml | 0.5g - 1g |