Calcium hydroxide uses Food industry info Chemical Man

Calcium hydroxide (traditionally called slaked lime) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca(OH)2. It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is obtained when calcium oxide (called lime or quicklime) is mixed, or slaked with water. It has many names including hydrated lime, caustic lime, builders' lime, slack lime, cal, or pickling lime. Calcium hydroxide is used in many applications, including food preparation. Limewater is the common name for a saturated solution of calcium hydroxide.

Because of its low toxicity and the mildness of its basic properties, slaked lime is widely used in the food industry to:

    clarify raw juice from sugarcane or sugar beets in the sugar industry, (see carbonatation)
    process water for alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.
    pickle cucumbers and other foods.
    make Chinese century eggs.
    in maize preparation: removes the cellulose hull of maize kernals (see nixtamalization).
    clear a brine of carbonates of calcium and magnesium in the manufacture of salt for food and pharmaceutical uses.
    fortify (Ca supplement) fruit drinks, such as orange juice, and infant formula
    aid digestion (called Choona, used in India in paan, a mixture of areca nuts, calcium hydroxide and a variety of seeds        wrapped in betel leaves)
    substitute for baking soda in making papadam.