Goat milk and PH readings

[steffb503]

I am making a number of raw aged cheese. I do a Emmenthal, an Edam and a Gouda. The swiss is always good. The other two seem to always be ? Tangy, sharp, not really bitter but never mild.
So I bought a PH meter. My milk, fresh from the goat runs 6.1 to 6.5. Seems very low. The milk tastes wonderful and lasts for 2 weeks in the fridge before going goaty. It makes a wonderful Chevre, Feta, Crottin and yogurt.
Could the low starting point be the source of the tangy taste?
If so how would I adjust for it?
I have calibrated my meter and water is 7.0

[steffb503]

No ideas?

[Al Lewis]

Could be the starter cultures used in the other recipes or any number of factors that are different in the recipe.

[Stinky]

Just to make sure, this is distilled water?

[qdog1955]

I worry more about the ph at salting and or brining. Checking ph while pressing is important also---sometimes they do a dramatic drop when you least expect it-----I no longer do the overnight pressing for that very reason.
Qdog

[steffb503]

It is city water.
I am using the same cultures MA 100. MA 11-14-16, MA 4000,4001
Should I simply reduce the ripening time? should I add rennet when the PH drops the suggested amount regardless of time?

[Sweet Leaves Farm]

Is it the beginning or end of the goats lactation? On my Nubians, end of lactation milk is 6.8, while right now at the beginning, its 7.2. Have you tested them for subclinical mastitis? Sometimes that can have an effect on pH. When we removed the soy and molasses from their diet, the pH went up .2. They only get homemade molasses/oat  treats when I have to give them their copper bolus, 2 times a year. I make the treats with the copper pills in them they wolf them right down.

[Stinky]

I think the problem here might be that you're testing city water. I would be rather surprised if it's really 7.00. Pure H2O has a neutral pH, but that changes when things go into it. The regulations for tap water state that it has to be between 6.5 and 9.5, and while after treatment it tends to be 7 to 8 pH that can change when it's being transported through the water system.

So could that be your problem? Did you calibrate the pH meter to the water?

[steffb503]

No I calabrated with the buffer solution that came with the meter.
Milk is tested by the state as I sell raw milk, so it is nothing IN the milk.
They kidded from Jan to April, so not beginning or end.
I think this is just what my milk is. I now need to adjust, that is where I am getting confused.

[Sweet Leaves Farm]

Well, in order to hit your target pH, you won't have to age it as long, or you might need to change cultures. Maybe for those cheeses, use a culture that stops growing sooner, like Flora Danica and see where that gets you. For my Jack cheese I use Flora Danica and it has a little cheesy aroma, but is milder like Jack is supposed to be. I'm thinking you need to play more with the cultures you use and the time they get to do their work. I pick cultures by trying the taste of the milk when I reaches the proper pH. Tastes weird, but you can feel the cheese flavor under there.

[steffb503]

I have some FD will try over the weekend. Just wish I did not have to wait months to find out!

[Stinky]

Make Jack and you can eat it in under a month.