I opened a 5 month old stirred curd Cheddar Sunday evening.  It was a mixed review.  The flavor was good, though not quite as sharp as I thought it would be.  The texture however was very dry and crumbly.  No bitter taste at all.  I’ve got a couple four day weekends coming up over the holidays; so I’ll be doing some more to see if I can improve it a bit more.  Suggestions?

Hi Rich,
I would love to offer some suggestions based on what I have learned, concerning this style of cheese, but I have a question….
What do you think the chances are that Santa will leave a Ph meter under the tree, for you?
The reason that I ask is because the recipe I built for myself is based nearly entirely upon Ph markers.
I won’t say that I have the recipe perfected, but I am very happy with the results I have been seeing.
The last one I tested had no bitter taste at all, and I feel that the texture was about as perfect as I’ll ever see. There were still a few open places in the interior of the cheese, but it was just a few. These open places measured maybe 3/32 of an inch and in most places there were only three or four of them in a large slice. I feel that the cheese had the texture and flavor of a commercial mild cheddar at about a month of aging.
I don’t know that the recipe would help much without a Ph meter since I don’t have any firm time points as part of the recipe. It just says things like “continue to cook until Ph reaches 5.4 - 5.3, approx. 1 hour.
If you do think you might see a Ph meter in your stocking, let me know and I’ll send it your way. I’m proud of it.
Have a great week.

Dave

5 months might still be a bit young, wrap up half and leave it longer and test it in another 5 months.
If u guys are having problems with bitterness, one idea would be to try a diff rennet, try a veg rennet and or dif manufacturer. maybe it ripened too fast as well, I found that with my brie if the temp was too high.

No, I’m not expecting a meter for Christmas.  But, honestly, I haven’t dropped any hints either.  I’m absolutely in the dark regarding meters - prices, capabilities, supplies necessary, etc. etc.  Based on Dave’s ravings, though, it sounds like an essential piece of equipment.  What do you folks use?

http://www.rickandlynne.com/rick/go/forums/viewthread/407/

Rich,
First of all, a Ph meter is really easy to use. Calibrate the meter before use…...take a sample of milk or whey from the pot…..dip the meter in the sample and check the reading. You never want to dip the probe directly into your batch of cheese unless it is one that is rated for food use.
To calibrate you need two different regents (calibration solutions) of a known Ph. I use Ph 7.0 and Ph 4.01. This will calibrate the meter for use on any sample that falls within this range.

The meter I use can be found here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-pH-TESTER-Hanna-CHECKER1-hydroponics-nutrients_W0QQitemZ380188879331QQihZ025QQcategoryZ75670QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m444QQ_trkparmsZalgo=CRX&its=C+S&itu=SI+UA+LM&otn=5&ps=63

The meter I want to buy can be found here: http://www.thehumansolution.com/exwareexphme.html?utm_source=Google+Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google+Shopping&gdftrk=gdfV2929_a_7c132_a_7c454_a_7cexwareexphme

The second meter is one that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time and I do plan on owning it before the next cheese making season begins. The benefit of this meter is that it has automatic temperature compensation (not a huge deal but nice) and can be used to test the Ph of a finished cheese without having to blend a sample for testing.

As for the calibration solutions I buy them here: http://www.planetnatural.com/site/ph-4-calibration-solution.html
You will find both solutions on this page and as long as you keep your solution in an air tight container it can be used several times before needing to be replaced.
I usually change mine about once a month just to be sure that it is still giving an accurate reading. The 8 oz. bottles give you plenty for a season or two of cheese making.

If you do happen to go this route I can give you a better explanation of the calibration procedure. The manual that comes with the meter might not have very good instructions (mine didn’t) but I’ve done quite a bit of reading and feel that I am now performing the calibration correctly.

Now that I’ve figured out the proper way to use my meter I really can’t imagine making cheese without it.
When I first started I just used it to see what my Ph was at a certain point. I guess that was sort of nice to know, but it certainly didn’t improve my cheese making skills.
After I figured out that a meter was a device to keep you from screwing up (by hitting certain critical marks during the make), that’s when my cheese making took a major turn for the better.
I think a fellow cheese maker said it best: When making a cheese, you don’t heat your milk for a certain amount of time and HOPE that the temperature is right at the end of that time period. Instead you use a good thermometer to make sure you hit your temperature marks correctly.
Likewise you simply cannot hit a Ph mark perfectly by using a timed method, since there are so many variables that are involved.
Consider this:
A cheddar cheese should be drained at Ph 6.2 to 6.1. If you let that same cheese drop to Ph 5.9 you are going to make a MUCH different cheese than you set out to make. Likewise, if you drain at Ph 6.4 your cheese will also be much different.
At the time of salting a cheddar should be at Ph 5.4 to 5.3. Again, if you miss this mark your cheese could actually be ruined. Once a cheese drops below 5.0 you will have a hard, crumbly texture and most likely a bitter flavor.  Now considering that your cheese Ph will continue to drop (slightly) during the pressing and initial aging stage, there’s not a lot of room for error on hitting this critical Ph marker.
I’m sure that this is more information than you were looking for, but I really am convinced that a owning a Ph meter is as necessary as owning a thermometer when it comes to making cheese.
I feel confident that between Nabil, Neil and myself,(and possibly others), we can supply you with information concerning the critical Ph points of certain types of cheeses. Most of my information has come from Peter Dixon’s site as well as the University of Guelph website. Others might have information that I do not, and if so, I’d love to hear from them.
I really hope you decide to pick one of these up. If you decide to go with the one that I’ve been using they really aren’t a huge expense. I really believe that in a short amount of time you will feel just as I do concerning the need for this piece of equipment.
Hope this helps, my friend.

Dave