Salometer's - Hydrometer Style, For Measuring Brine Density

[wharris]

He also said to save your money and use Ph strips because the meters mess up due to the milk protein build up and calibration can be a pain.

I thought that prevailing wisdom here stated that pH strips were too lax in precision and that a .01 readout was helpful? Which pH strips does he use?

These were what he used for ph testing. I'm still looking for them. I got some at a winemaker store by me. He has been making cheese for years so I'm sure that his eye is just as good! After all what were they using 150 years ago?

As far as I know, 150 years ago they had cheese makers who did not check pH.
We have that today too. I think that there are some here in this forum that really don't need a pH meter either.  Those folks use the look, feel, taste, and sound of the curd to determine its state.  But then again, they made cheese ever day. I am not in that crowd. 

I'm sorry.  I would not use those test strips.
They are just not accurate enough. And I since many of my processes depend achieving a certain pH marker, in a certain time, I do not understand how those would effectively be used.
For example, if i were looking to determine a pH drop of pH .1, or drain at pH6.1 or salt at pH5.3. How exactly is that done?
Do you go throug a bunch of these strips till you see what you are looking for? I don't get it.
It kinda seems like these strips gives one a point-in-time, general understanding of the pH, when what most need are real-time accurate reads of the pH.

But then again, this comes from one that has never used the strips.
I could be off-base.

[motochef]

I get your point Wayne. Since I'm just starting off with this I find that all of this forum's information to be awesome. Are there any brands/models that you guys recommend. I think about what my instructor had said and since the class his information is all that I had to go on. I would like to find something that is cheap easy to clean and calibrate. What do you guys and gals use?   

[motochef]

I asked Dr.Larry about Ricotta and PH meters vs the test strips here is what he said:


Hi Robert,

Thanks for the link to the forum.  It is true that some cheesemakers are very reliant on acidity measurement (TA and/or pH).  As we mentioned, it definitely can be an aid for gaining insight on the biochemistry of the process, and for some cheeses (e.g., mozzarella), it can help a lot with knowing exactly when a critical step needs to occur (stretching at pH 5.3). 

Both Linda and I have had many years of lab experience, and understand the value of getting precise measurements.  However, we learned cheesemaking from Europeans who take a sensory approach to cheesemaking.  Using your eyes, olfactory sense, taste, and feel can also give tremendous insight into the process as well.  We are not trying to say that one way is right and will make better cheese--but it is interesting to note that on our 1997 trip to Europe, only one out of 28 cheesemakers measured acidity with lab devices.  And we have consulted with many, many farms who have had major issues with expensive pH meters, so the strips end up being a better investment.

As far as the ricotta, whenever we make mozzarella I always make ricotta from the whey, and it works extremely reliably.  However, we have never made mozzarella using citric acid.  I do know that when we have tried making ricotta from whey that is very acidic (below pH 4.7) it can be very tricky to make ricotta from it.  So perhaps the citric acid is playing a roll.  It would be helpful to know what your friend is observing and what procedure he is using.  Just let us know.

When is your wife coming to Vermont?  It would be great to see her (and you) again.

Keep us updated on your progress.

Best wishes,

Larry and Linda


Linda Faillace, author of Mad Sheep from Chelsea Green Publishing Website: http://www.chelseagreen.com/2006/items/madsheep Dr. Larry and Linda Faillace Three Shepherds of the Mad River Valley 108 Roxbury Mountain Road Warren, VT 05674 Tel: 802-496-3998 www.threeshepherdscheese.com