an odd-looking word which comes more or less straight from the Arabic al-kali, meaning the calcined ashes of plants such as saltwort. In food science it means ‘any substance which neutralizes or effervesces with acids and forms a caustic or corrosive solution in water’ (NSOED). It can also mean a soluble salt (or mixture of such salts) of an alkaline nature. See acids, and also pH for an explanation of the scale by which the acidity or alkalinity of a substance is measured.
Very few foodstuffs are alkaline. Indeed, McGee (1984) remarks that ‘egg albumen and baking soda are the only alkaline ingredients to be found in the kitchen’. However, a number are almost neutral, e.g. milk. So adding milk (or yoghurt) to a mixture will normally reduce the acidity of the mixture.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
McGee, Harold (1984), On Food and Cooking, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
