I was looking at the brine recipe from the Beverage Company, and though it has apparently complete instructions for Feta, I'm not so sure about Romano? Do I need to be concerned about PH for that?
I don't worry about PH in my brine, but wayne does, maybe he'll chime in. I think the reason for PHing your brine is if you have a problem of your cheese 'melting' in the brine.
To be clear, i am open to advice here. Not an authority... by any stretch.
I'm with Carter, I have never tested the ph levels of any of my brines.
I did use a hydrometer other day and it was for distilling and goes very low and it still bottomed out so I guess it's saturated... ;D Problem is that was the brine that "the brick" crumbled into so I had to toss it.
Hi guys, I know I've posted this a lot, but Lady Liberty might not have seen the information....
I always use my whey for brine.
I never make ricotta or any other whey cheese so it's either pour it down the sink or add salt to it and brine in it.
As I've stated before, I figure the PH of the whey should be pretty much perfectly in line with the PH of the curd and it did in fact stop any melting problems I was having with my Provolones.
After brining in the whey I dump it out.
Salt is cheap and there is always plenty of whey from the next batch.
I do this for all of my cheese that requires brining and I'm yet to have any sort of a problem from using this method.
Hope this helps.
Dave
You are right on with the pH, your method should produce a perfect match. But I have a question.
Most brine can keep for weeks.. Given the amount of butterfat remaining the whey, does that impact the lifespan of the brine? Is that even a concern for you?
Also, do you wipe your natural rind cheeses with that same whey-brine?
Wayne,
I never save the brine after I use it.
For one thing I would worry about it spoiling if kept for weeks and another is that unless I was making the same type of cheese over and over the PH would probably be much different, between different varieties.
I normally use canning/pickling salt to make my brine and it really is inexpensive...like $3.00 for 5 lbs.
Since I brine in a tubberware container that is only slightly larger than the cheese, I literally get by with 2-3 cups of whey and probably less than a 1/2 lb. of salt.
Since these tupperware containers have a tight fitting lid, the brine flows over the top of the cheese which completely submerges the cheese.
As for brine used for wiping (like swiss) I do use a saturated salt water brine.
The reason is because this process sometimes goes on for weeks and even if kept in the fridge I would be worried about the whey-brine spoiling.
As I said, by using this method I've never had a problem and it's nice to know that my cheeses aren't melting during the brining process.
Dave
Dave where do you find the pickling salt. I usually buy the boxes of Diamond Salt, it's cheap but not sure how cheap compared to your price.
:)you can try this brine recipe that I have used with success- From Jim Wallace(New England Cheese Making)
1 gal h20
2.25 lbs cheese salt
1 tbs cacl
1tsp white vinegar(to correct ph t0 5.2)
brine time -1hr per lb per in of thickness
Brine in a saturated salt brine (80-96% saturated or 20-24% salt) for 3-4 days at 45-50° F.
Whey should be fine for a few weeks in the fridge but if you plan to use it as a brine why not add the salt before storing it? Nothing can live in that kind of environment - it's harsher than a pickle.