I just received a Hanna waterproof ph meter! Now I need to learn how to use it....
Do I put the meter in the whey, or against the curds?
Where can I find guidelines about ph levels for making cheese?
The recipes in my new book "Artisan Cheese Making" do not include ph info, and the recipes I have seen on the forum do not show ph.
I am hoping using this meter might help guide me in my "consuming" new hobby of cheese making.....!
Google for Washington Cheese Guild and University of Guelph--Dairy Science. Both sites have lots of recipes including pH markers. I started a spreadsheet and posted it a while back--search for pH targets/markers? It's a bit of a treasure hunt and if you know which cheese you want to do at a given time you can always post and someone will try to help. What type of hanna do you have?
HI 98127
Hi scasnerkay,
I have the same meter. It only measures the pH in whey, but most of the time that is fine. It is not necessarily water proof. I had two in a row go bad fairly quickly. The symptoms suggested moisture got in an fried it. There are only 2 places moisture could get in. The probe in the bottom and the battery compartment in the top. I know the problem was the probe as I never submerge mine very far. I have thought about this and decided to reduce the area that sits in to just the last 1/2 inch-- the probe. When I store it I only use a few drops in the cap. So far meter #3 is still working. I can't help but wonder if the storage medium is corrosive enough to destroy what ever they use to seal the base of the probe.
Good luck! :)
So I have looked on this site, and online but cannot find how to use this meter. I turned it on, and placed the end into some milk pulled from the pot into a small bowl, before the culture was added, and it says 6.8. So I suppose that is the baseline of my milk. Culture has now been added, and I am waiting a bit, then will check by the same method. But I am not sure of the target....
I also am not sure if this thing needs calibrating in some way, or if I need to use the liquids that came with it in various pouches. I also wonder if those liquids could be stored in glass jars, because if I open the foil packs, then the rest would not be usable.
I know I have posted guidance here before for proper usage, maintenance, and restoration of meters. Try again, maybe new search terms? When I search google for "how do I use a ph meter" there are many results.
QuoteI also am not sure if this thing needs calibrating in some way
Yes, at the beginning of every make.
Quoteor if I need to use the liquids that came with it in various pouches.
Yes, for calibration and likely you have one for probe storage
QuoteI also wonder if those liquids could be stored in glass jars, because if I open the foil packs, then the rest would not be usable.
Yes, try to get them airtight.
I can copy my instructions and post them if you continue having trouble finding what you need--might be a couple days before I can use the scanner. They are very basic and only barely useful! You should be able to google Hannas site and there is a video on youtube as well. They should have been included with your meter...just look around the box of stuff, if you see a postage size piece of paper with writing on it... those are it! They really are brief!
You might wish to purchase a bottle of pH 4 and pH 7 solutions. I like to calibrate it before each session and then leave it in pH 7 solution while I'm making cheese, that way I can see right away if something changes.. and it sometimes does! But after having the solution out so long, and the meter in and out so many times, it's better to discard the solution. I use shot glasses for the solutions so I don't waste much. Just a 3rd of an inch in a shot glass is plenty for a reading.
Thank you for your help. I did find some more info in the box. It just does not really explain how to use the tool. I did try to take some readings while making manchego this afternoon, and it went from 6.8 to 6.6. But I had not done a calibration first, so I am not sure that means anything. I also am not sure what I should be looking for!
I am wondering why the recipes on the wiki site do not have pH suggestions???
Your instruction do tell you how to calibrate you meter. It's pretty simple to do. No measurement you take means anything until you know it's calibrated. I would play around with it before you start your next batch of cheese. Press the on/off button and hold until it switches to calibrate mode. It will tell you to put it in pH7 solution, leave it there until it tells you to put it in pH 4 solution. Leave it in that solution until it finish and the screen switches to the normal display. Review the tips I've posted to you and that should be enough to get you going!
Sorry you are frustrated by the lack of pH targets in recipes. It a frustration we all have to cope with. Spend time rummaging thru posts on the forum. Google the sites I mentioned earlier and cheese by cheese do your research. It's a little less overwhelming if you tackle things one cheese at a time!
Happy Thoughts,
Anut