Sodium alginate is a seaweed-derived gum that gels the instant it meets calcium — the reaction behind spherification, the technique that turns a flavoured liquid into juice- filled "caviar" and yolk-like spheres with a thin, bursting skin.
PAIR's modernist science — how much to use, how it behaves with heat, and what makes it fail — is a Pro feature. The description, nutrition, history and facts stay free.