PH level for cheddar

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1893 Reply
    magician176
    Participant

    I have a problem with my cheddar cheese I make. It develops an “off” smell after a few weeks of maturing. I figured out that it must be the PH-level that is not low enough as I work extremely hygienic. How do I get my PH-level lower as I follow the recipes very close?

    #1903 Reply
    Curd Nerd
    Keymaster

    If you think your pH levels are out of range, the only real way to make sure you are achieving them is to use a pH meter. Cheddar is one cheese that I think a pH meter is almost essential for. Without one you can end up with all sort of issues or, at best, an ok cheese. If you want a good cheese it’s worth investing in one and checking those levels at each step to make sure you are within range and heading in the right direction before you start aging.

    The other thing to keep an eye on is the moisture around your cheese (i.e. collected whey), temperature and humidity. Do you think these are all suitable?

    #1921 Reply
    user6244
    Participant

    So I have a PH meter,,I tested my milk and the meter reads 7.0 at 57f,,, I warm the milk 1.5 gallons to 90f add culture 1/4 pack or 1 smidgen tsp wait 45 minutes, ph 6.9,,,added rennet 2 tablets covered and checked for clean break 60 minutes later nice clean break test of whey 6.8 rose temp to 100f stirring every 5 minutes for 30 minutes checked ph 6.7 from that point on never dipped below 6.7 (this was for pepper jack by the way and it seems to me even my cheddar ran same numbers….
    I have no clue if those numbers are good or bad..???????

    #1969 Reply
    Curd Nerd
    Keymaster

    There are two points during the cheddar make that are most important in terms of reaching the right pH range. At draining (whey from curd) and at the point of salting.

    User6244, your range was quite high for best results in a cheddar. You want your curd at 6.0-6.2 tops when draining. And you want it down to around 5.4 at the time of salting.

    Did you record your process and your ranges for this make? It would be great to track how the cheese turns out, with the pH ranges you had so you can also see the difference in your next make with the new ranges.

    #1970 Reply
    user6244
    Participant

    To be honest I didn’t have a cheese diary started. I guess as it has been mentioned several times in several books and on the message boards I need to do that.

    The cheeses made above where made exactly as mentioned in the Mad Millie recipe guide that came with the kit other than I added a different pepper in the jack cheese recipe.

    Since I didn’t deviate from the recipe at all and no missteps or late times etc I guess I didnt really know what one would add or write in the notes?

    I have come to the conclusion that having just got the meter and no buffer solutions had arrived , I may have had a calibration error while playing with the new toy…

    I got the 4.0 7.0 10.0 solutions to include storage solution a few days afterwards and it appears the unit was off , but I am not sure it was off by enough to not read.

    Also with the PH ranges will that range be dependent on the starting point of the milk being used?

    #1972 Reply
    magician176
    Participant

    Thank you for all your replies, I will give it another go and record the process and data precisely, then let you have it to give myour input.

    Kind regards

    #1983 Reply
    user6244
    Participant

    I just tried out tested the Pepper Jack despite the numbers posted something went right as it turned out awesome so good in fact some visitors twice today wiped out half my wheel 🙂

    Pepper Jack Wheel

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
Reply To: PH level for cheddar
Your information: