So after reading the article I posted we may not have much of a choice but invest in a PH meter. Been looking and see one that is promising. Sent an email to the company so see what they say.

http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=PHH7X&Nav=grebb01

PS
by the way, all my bloomed cheese melt, its only the hard cheese ive had problems with.

yep, that’s the one I saw that i will buy. It is the one he was referring to that needs the electrodes replaced yearly. A first I started looking at them and was saying ...“500-1000 dollars!! Yikes!”

That’s the one I ordered. Haven’t had a chance to use it yet but did calibrate it. Be sure to order the solutions to go with it. Get both the 7.01 and 4.01 calibration solution. Also get the storage solution.

why the 7 and 4, 7 should be enough, mind u I dont know anything about the meters.

Got a reply from the e-mail to omega, was surprised at the response. I realize that the bulb of the end of the prob is a soft material and can be contaminated by solid material, as what he is saying. Might be cheaper to go with the paper unless one has the bucks for a higher cost one. My guess is that the contamination of the prob will reduce its accuracy.

———————————————————————
Hello,
There are ph probes for soft material, instead of liquid, but they are
about $100 for the probe alone the digital readout is extra - more than you
want to spend . Ther is also the problem of cleaning the probe even if it is
in a ‘cheese derived liquid’ or the whey.
My suggestion is to use the paper strips like the following and in the pdf
attachments.  But you probably already are.

PHA-90                     16.75 RL   /  /  0
INDICATOR PAPER             PH-ROM           0

Examples of the lowest cost digital readout that I suggest would work for
you..
  3     1 PHE-1526                   115.00 EA 05/27/08 0
        SPEAR-POINT PH ELECTRODE       PH-VEI           0
  4     1 PHH-715                   97.00 EA 05/12/08 0
        MINI DIGITAL PH METER     CE   PH-IXC           0
 

Regards,
Michael Grace,
Technical Representative,
Representant technique,
Tel: 1-800-826-6342 ext. 2227
Montreal area tel : 514 856 6928 ext. 2227,
Personal fax 450 975 6522
976 Bergar
Laval Qc. H7L 5A1

From what I’ve read, calibrating the device with both solutions improves accuracy. I think it’s referred to as two point calibration. The checker itself has 2 calibration screws on top. One for 7 and one for 4.

Dug up more info on PH. Looks like this is our biggest hurdle. Looks like were rushing the process too much and it does not get a chance to develop. I thingk I will try some small batched again. The milk we use is probably a factor in the process as to how fast the cultures can metabolize the milk to produce the proper PH.

11.3 pH Control
# with respect to cheese quality and safety, the most important process control factor is the development of acidity
# increasing acidity causes:

  * -syneresis (due to reduced charge repulsion on casein micelles) and moisture expulsion
  * solubilization of calcium phosphates
  * disruption of casein micelle structure with alterations in curd texture
  * reduced lactose content by fermentation to lactic acid

# acid development occurs mainly within the curd because most bacteria are trapped in the gel matrix during coagulation
# final pH (acidity) is dependent on the amount of acid developed during manufacture and the residual lactose which will ferment during early curing and cause further acid development
# the residual lactose content is mainly determined by the moisture content, washing which removes lactose by leaching, and the extent of fermentation
# ability of culture to ferment galactose is also important
# both the rate of acid development and the amount of acid development (as measured by final pH) are important
# eg., final pH of Swiss is the same as Cheddar but Cheddar cheese reaches pH 5.2 after about 5 hours while Swiss cheese requires about 15 h to reach this pH
# it is important to maintain uniform rate of acid development; if acidity develops too slow or too fast, adjust the amount of culture rather than changing cooking time or temperature
# pH at draining largely determines the mineral and residual sugar contents of the cheese and from the sugar, the final pH
# salting reduces the rate of acid development, and, therefore, the time and amount of salting is important to the pH at 1 day and 7 days following manufacture

So I got my PH meter, so as soon as I do my next batch I will include PH readings and hoping that get better results.

good luck with the new way of cheese making
u will find a huge shift

cheers