Brine, Whey Based - Rind Dissolving

[Zoey]

I've been making cheese for a while but I have never had the rind NOT dissolve in my brine.

Now and then I look the issue up on the forum, and every time I read the same old stories about brine ph, and how using whey as brine helps.

I have not noticed a difference between whey brine and water brine. Never added vinegar, though. I'm thinking next time I'll have to measure pH of both the cheese and the brine.

Questions:

1. How do I measure cheese ph after pressing? If I measure the draining whey pH, does that equal cheese pH? I have no method of measuring pH of solids...

2. Maybe I'm doing something wrong that makes my whey pH take another direction as the cheese, before I get to brining. I have tried refridgerating the whey before brining starts, but also keeping it at the same temperature as the cheese (which I would imagine would promote the most similar pH development). Should I add the salt only just before putting the cheese in, or can I add it earlier? Will the salt slow down pH development so that the cheese and brine end up with different pH levels before the brining starts? Or do any of these make any difference?

3. If I use whey, is there a point of still adding vinegar to the brine? Since the rind still dissolves, I would assume yes?

4. Is it possible for the problem to be vice versa - meaning instead of a low pH cheese in high pH brine, could it be the other way around? Would the result be similar?

5. The cheese has mainly ended up fine, despite the brine issues. I still wonder, can it be an issue of unadequate or excess acidity in the cheese, instead of problems with the brine? So should I look into cheese acidity problems also, or just brine acidity problems?

6. Are there other factors that cause rind dissolving issues, than cheese/brine pH? To me it seems that the brine pH has not made any difference, so could it be that my problem is something else?

[mtncheesemaker]

What cheese are you making?

[Sailor Con Queso]

If your cheese is dissolving in brine, it's either a pH or calcium issue.

[Zoey]

Pam, my brined cheeses have been gouda, havarti or parmesan so far. It doesn't seem to be a cheese type related issue.

Sailor, if one brines in whey, can it still be a calcium issue?

[acstokes]

Zoey,
You're making this whey (way) too complicated, but you need a pH meter to get it right every time. I frequently make Gouda and Havarti and have never had this problem. I always have CaCl in the solution and I make sure the pH of the brine is near that of the cheese.

Never added vinegar, though.

The final pH for these cheeses should be about 5.1-5.3. Salt has no effect on pH. I use my pH meter and white vinegar to accurately adjust the acidity. I use distilled water, add CaCl, and a very small amount of vinegar-----usually ~1/2-1 teaspoon/gallon. I don't think I could get it accurate enough without a pH meter. I consider a pH meter as essential to making quality chesse with repeatable results.

I think the main reason some folks use whey instead of distilled water is that it usually carries over enough CaCl at the proper pH so that additives other than salt are unnecessary. However, if you don't know what the proper pH is supposed to be and it's not right, you'll still have the same problem you're experiencing.

Fred