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PH meter for cheese

If you are serious about cheese making you will quickly realise PH (and TA – covered in a separate article) of your dairy products is essential  to be successful. So, what does PH meter do? The pH meter measures the difference in electrical potential between a pH electrode and a reference electrode, and so the pH meter is sometimes referred to as a “potentiometric pH meter”.

Although,  it does sound very scientific but in a day-to-day usage, it comes down to simply taking the reading of ph meter clearly displayed in a digital form. Until you are close to the set points in your recipe, you are on the winning side.

Over the last six years,  I have been using both Hanna HI 9813-5 (Two units purchased within 24months)  and Testo 206 model (also two sets).

Both brands of ph meters have been fitted with ph probes dedicated to thicker solids and temperature probs.

PH paper:

It’s the most cost-effective way to measure PH of your milk but it does has its  major downfalls.

PH paper may come in a roll or pre-cut strips packed in either ‘matches’ style box or a plastic container. I would highly recommend packaging which protects paper from moisture and splashes when stored.  The major downfall of PH paper is the fact that readings are not only inaccurate (often to a full point) but also unconclusive. It varies greatly on the operator (or how good the eyesight of the operator is) but also of a light type presented when taking a reading. I have found very different reading when checking against daylight or artificial LED or fluorescent lamps presented in a laboratory room/production space.

I am personally using PH paper to check my brine solution as high saturation of salt and low PH (Acidy) will cause PH probe of your meter go par shape quickly.

 

Cheese making Hanna PH meter
OLD designed Cheese making Hanna PH meter

Let’s start with Hanna PH meter:
I really like the fact that both temperature and pH probe are on a cord not as a single-handed device. It makes things easy when measuring sample product. You may be surprised how often you will be measuring a curd ph which means  a lot of samples. You want a narrow/tall container to make sure PH probe end is fully ‘submerge’ in a measuring product. Hence,  having a probe on a cord make it easier to not tip over the container – like Tiesto does.

Downside:
PH probe and temperature probe both were fantastic. Unfortunately,  the main hand peace prove to be moisture sensitive and both knob’s for PH regulation failed within 12months. Luckily this issue was fixed in the most recent model which now moist resistant.

 

 

 

Testo 206H meters:

Testo 206 PH meter is one of the old single handed hand peace’s available on the market.testo 206 PH meter

I have found the shape hard to use when measuring small samples in a tall container due to gravity point being very high. Testo seems to tip on a side making a mess and cause to re-sample the same product.

To some of you who will not pasteurise milk but get in pasteurise milk,  this may not be a big deal. I have been pasteurising milk to 63deg C and later chilling to a set temperature. When I have been measuring PH at a higher temperature screen often fog-out making impossible to read to scale.

 

Benefits:

Downside:

PH probe required re-calibration on a regular interval (in my case,  each 1h or before major step in a cheese making – for example hooping). Sometimes,  difference was as high as 0.5!

 

wireless ph meter

example of a wireless ph meter

Wifi probes

Here is an example of a new concept of a wifi probe paired with a mobile phone.

I have never used such set before,  therefore my comments are limited. Saying this,  I worked for many years in a commercial setup. I wonder how a linked set will deal with thick insulated walls (the so-called sandwich panels) of any small/medium size factory? Also,  keeping your mobile phone in a commercial cheese factory/dairy must later or rather sooner end up  with a splash or full dip in. I would love to hear comment from anyone who had one.

 

Few tips which I learned over the years:

 

PH buffors

PH buffors
testo probe

testo probe

 

Happy cheese making!

Lukasz Klekowski

Director

Cheese kettle Pty Ltd

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