rapid ph drop in Shropshire blue make

[broombank]

I made a batch of Shropshire Blue today. In the Cheesemaking.com recipe it is suggested to leave the curd overnight while keeping it warm until the ph drops to 4.6. To my surprise mine dropped to 4.6 in 5 hours so I broke it up and salted it even though the curd was over wet for my liking. It's now in the mould draining slowly where according to the recipe it should remain for five days . What I'm trying to work out was why such a steep ph drop ?- I used M11  P. Roqueforti  and FLAV 54 as a flavour adjunct. I'm wondering if the Flav 54 speeded it up. Does anyone have any experience with Helveticus  which is the major component of Flav. 54 ? suggestions gratefully received

[Aris]

Did the curds have a very sour smell and taste? What pH meter were you using and was it calibrated before use? I have a decent pH meter but I don't use it anymore because I am already used to making cheese without it and I trust my senses a lot more. pH meter also needs to be cleaned and calibrated before use. Flav 54 is an adjunct culture which means it doesn't produce enough lactic acid.

[broombank]

thanks Aris - no the curd didn't smell - the ph meter is reliable and I checked its reading with a ph strip - it was cleaned and calibrated before use. My explanation is that I used a bit more culture than I might have .9G for 10 l milk and that the curd  which had been matured for 90 minutes before cutting, was then after cutting  kept at 31C for another 90 minutes before being put in a warm cloth lined colander for three hours. It gave the culture a massive boost. I supposed I wasn't surprised that the ph dropped fast but it didn't give it enough time to harden once drained so when I salted it , it was still quite wet and friable. It's draining well and it looks fine so it will probably be OK.
Mysteries of cheese making !