pH Equipment? Why? For what?

[humble_servant7]

Can someone please explain to me why pH equipment is important.

I went on Ricki Carrol's Cheese site, but she didnt REALLY explain why it is that you may need pH equipment.

And secondly, How do you use it?
And what for?
The cheesemaking books themselves dont even tell you the target ideal pH range in the first place.
*holding head in stress*

I dont get it.

 Someone please helpme.

[GBoyd]

Well, I would say a Ph meter is not strictly necessary. I personally don't own one and I have made many successful cheeses by just following the recipe and guessing how much acid has been produced.

That said, I plan to buy one soon. It would be helpful to be able to take consistent notes and adapt recipes according to acid production. Right now I can't measure the Ph, so sometimes I end up with too much acid production.
Also some cheeses, especially mozzarella, are very difficult to make at all without knowing the Ph.

So starting without a Ph meter won't hurt you, but if you're looking to improve and make a more consistent product, you're better off getting one eventually.

[FarmerJd]

Well said, Gboyd. I will add from experience, if you keep making cheese or stay on this forum for long you are likely to get one eventually. If you haven't read the articles on the main page -http://cheeseforum.org/Making/Making.htm- I would highly recommend them. A lot of good info there that will answer a lot of questions.

[humble_servant7]

Well, I would say a Ph meter is not strictly necessary. I personally don't own one and I have made many successful cheeses by just following the recipe and guessing how much acid has been produced.

That said, I plan to buy one soon. It would be helpful to be able to take consistent notes and adapt recipes according to acid production. Right now I can't measure the Ph, so sometimes I end up with too much acid production.
Also some cheeses, especially mozzarella, are very difficult to make at all without knowing the Ph.

So starting without a Ph meter won't hurt you, but if you're looking to improve and make a more consistent product, you're better off getting one eventually.

Okay, I understand.

But how exactly does it work, if one doesnt even know the pH level required to know that the cheese has acidified enough?

Catch my drift?

[hplace]

I know what you are saying - most recipes will not indicate what pH targets you need to hit, so a pH meter is useless. Margaret Morris' book has an Industrial Cheese Recipes section that has pH targets that can be adapted to home cheese making. This forum has posts that identify pH targets for cheddar. If you have questions about pH targets for other recipes, somone on this forum will know.

[linuxboy]

I've posted pH targets before for many cheese styles, but they're not consolidated in one place or table. This will hopefully change after Debi is done with her book. In general, there are only 2-3 big targets. One is at whey drain, the other at brining/salting.

If you have specific questions about a cheese or need direct guidance on a recipe for pH targets, you can always post them

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Humble_Servant7,

To complicate the matters further, there is also the titratable acidity thingy. I am trying to get some more info on this as well but looks like no takers there yet. See my post here

The whole key point of making cheese is the process of acidification and the type of cheese you are producing depends on it. It is like engineering the milk into cheese and you need measurement devices to understand what the bacteria, temperature, time and pressure is doing for the acidification. Check out this doco here from late James Aldridge and his explanation of acidification. Acidification should be controlled at many stages and recorded if you don't want to waste your efforts and time.

[Likesspace]

As GBoyd stated, a ph meter is not necessary to make cheese. I made cheese for about 3 years without one and most times I turned out something that was acceptable, to pretty darn good.
Now having said that I will now say that, in my opinion, a Ph meter is as necessary as a cheese pot or cheese press because it is the key to moving from acceptable cheese to great cheese. This I've found is especially true in swiss and cheddar varieties.
I'm still a novice when it comes to using a Ph meter but like Linuxboy said, Ph is especially important at two points in the make. If you hit these two points there is a good chance that you will turn out a nice cheese.
Now of course there are a lot of other variables that come into play but hitting the proper Ph points is something that is very very important.
I'm personally at the point where I will not make cheese without a Ph meter, in fact I have a spare on hand just in case my current one would happen to give out. When I first started posting on this forum I made a post that said I did not think they were a necessary piece of equipment but I've since changed my mind.
As I said a few seconds ago, you can make cheese and if all goes well you can make a nice cheese without a meter. What's hard is duplicating that nice cheese in future batches.
Hope this helps.

Dave

[Tom Turophile]

Frustrated; I checked 2 drug stores and 1 hardware store for pH test strips, and no luck.

[linuxboy]

Try a homebrew store like Wine Craft. Should be $6 or so for a 100 pack.

http://www.beerinfo.com/atlbeer/homebrew.html

[Tom Turophile]

I think I have bought every cheesemaking product she has except molds...but you are right, she may have it in a different section.

[wharris]

While the strips are a start,  You will want something more accurate than the strips before long.


To me, the pH meter is as essential as the thermometer. 
In other words, You heat the milk, not for X number of minutes, but untill it reaches a target temperature.

The same can be said for the acid production.
You acidify the milk, not for X number of minutes, but until it reaches a target acidity (pH or TA)

[Boofer]

Good clear comparison, Wayne.

-Boofer-

[judec]

Wow thanks Gurkan, that article was great.  I've been looking for something like this for a while.  The acidification information is great.  I have made a couple of Gouda's that have been "pasty" and now I understand why.  I am going to buy a meter.  I never thought I would get so into getting this all right.  I have spent the last couple of days making cheeses and then look at my house and think oh my god, I must be nuts getting so involved and I have pots and buckets, whey, big mess, presses of all sorts all over the kitchen.  Noone can get in to make lunch!!
Loads of fun
Jude.

[Divey]

While the strips are a start,  You will want something more accurate than the strips before long.


To me, the pH meter is as essential as the thermometer. 
In other words, You heat the milk, not for X number of minutes, but untill it reaches a target temperature.

The same can be said for the acid production.
You acidify the milk, not for X number of minutes, but until it reaches a target acidity (pH or TA)

Fair enough, I would have to agree.

Where do you buy a pH meter that is suitable for cheese making?