adjusting pH

[JoannaCW]

I've just gotten a pH meter after a lot of apparently pH-related problems with last year's cheese.  I've seen some recipes with pH targets, but I am still confused.  Plainly the amount of culture which is added strongly affects pH, but the pH markers I see begin after curd cut.  And sometimes the pH doesn't seem to keep dropping, however long I wait.  After curd cut is there anything I can do to increase acidification?
Thanks,
joanna

[linuxboy]

What sources are you using? pH should drop after curd cut during the cook.

[JoannaCW]

I've been getting my recipe pH markers from Rick Robinson's cheesemaking recipe section.   I posted the puzzling results of my first Gouda-with-pH-checks there:

I am trying my first cheese with the pH meter, and something isn’t working out.
I tried a hybrid of Dave’s Gouda recipe and my usual one, as follows:
heated 2 gallons of milk from our goats to 86 F
added 1/8 tsp DVI mesophyllic culture
(No CaCl, because I’ve read that isn’t needed for fresh raw milk.)
added 1/2 t rennet in 1/4 cup cold water
let set 1 hour (had a meeting so didn’t stop for flocculation test)
cut curd in 1/2” cubes
let rest 5 minutes
First pH check (with Hanna Checker): 6.59
After about 50 minutes of stirring, holding the cheese between 88 and 90, pH was flashing back and forth between 6.50 and 6.49.  Ten minutes later it was flashing between 6.50 and 6.51.
I gave up on lowering it and replaced 6 cups of whey with 6 cups of 130 F water.  The whey pH rose back to 6.59.  (Our water has high sulfur content. Would that make a difference?) 
Repeated in 7 minutes;temp about 97 F; pH rose to 6.65
Repeated after 5 minutes;temp about 98 F; pH rose to 6.67
Raised to 100 F, held 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
Drained whey ( I couldn’t picture how to press under whey); put curds in mold, pressed with 20 lb weight.  Whey pH 6.84
I’m pressing at at 40 lbs now as per my old recipe.  I’m not sure why I couldn’t get the whey pH down to 6.45 after cutting the curd, or why it rose instead of falling subsequently.  Could it be about the CaCl? Or something abut my goat milk? What’s the usual starting pH of your milk? (I didn’t think to check mine.)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Since posting that I've checked our milk's starting pH--today's batch for Cheddar was 6.52. 

[Sailor Con Queso]

A few observations.

Always check the pH of your milk before you start. That tells you a lot about what's going on with your milk and gives you a baseline. Cows milk is around 6.6 - 6.65. I don't know about goat's milk.

You need to use purified water. A simple carbon filter will do. Sulphur is not your friend. If you are using well water it might also be high in calcium. Probably messed with any further readings. What is the pH of your water?

A flashing pH difference of .01 is inconsequential. Did you calibrate the meter?

You did not need CaCl.

In my experience, Hannas are notoriously inaccurate. Our local hydroponics dealer had so many returns, that he gave away a couple of dozen to customers. I used mine 2 or 3 times and threw it away. If pH is important, it's also important that it be right.