I am very excited to see someone from close by who is making cheese -- I live near Angier, about 30 miles south of Raleigh. I'd love to know where you are getting the raw goat milk! How long have you been making cheese?
Since I've never had the opportunity to work with raw goat milk, I'm afraid I don't have an answer on the expected starting pH. I have read that milk pH
straight from the animal can be an indication of health vs. potential problems such as mastitis ... though I think I read that the latter results in higher pH, rather than lower. Hopefully Tiarella or others who keep goats and make cheese from the milk will chime in.
If it is simply a matter of goat milk pH starting out lower, ie that the milk is healthy, then I wouldn't be concerned about the starting pH being below the culturing target per se; the bigger concern would be to adjust so that the final pH is in the right range. That might mean using less culture, lower or higher heat targets, shorter time, etc.
Do you have a copy of Gianaclis Caldwell's book, Matering Artisan Cheesemaking? If not, this is a wonderful resource, part of which specifically addresses how to adjust when things are not going according to plan.
