Measuring pH of cheese curds when making cheese

Im currently working on reviewing our QCP and CCP for our mozzarella.

but I  end up with more question than understanding of the plan. I dont know if it could be either because i used to work with meat or it is that it is should be corrected.

I know pH is important, but I could not find article that explain when, how and where do I do the pH check.

so the main problem is the pH assessment, i know it is not so much of a CCP, but a qcp as it determines the final stretchability of the cheese when finished.

first question is when should I measure the pH, is it just after cutting curd, before dumping the mixture into the drainingtub, or at what stage? and what can be done at that point to increase or decrease the pH to save the cheese.

2nd is what pH range should I be reading at this point for mozzarella type cheese?

and last, on our recipe, we want to get the pH to be between 5.60 to 5.65, my previous experience with a pH meter, this is too small of a window, but what do you guys say? since the batch being made are from a 1000L batch

Greetings Oz,

For your first question, usually the pH is measured just before it is placed in the maturing chamber and you also take some measurements during this process so you can check the quality. Unfortunately you can't do much to correct the pH after the cheese has coagulated. One thing that can somewhat help is to place the maturing cheese in brine of the same pH which has been seen to slow a bit the further acidification of the cheese (disclaimer: this has been seen through experience not from actual scientific process). Your cheese is placed in brine so it might help. The key to achieving the desired pH is in the milk. The pH of the milk upon reception, how you treat it, mixing it if necessary with higher pH milk if you have a low one, processing it immediately if it has low pH and doesn't coagulate when you boil a sample, even a change of the pasteurization process can help (low pH milk may be treated in lower temp for longer time, which can help later) etc.

For your second question, mozzarella pH ranges from 4.7 - 5.5, but most manufacturers suggest around 4.9 - 5.3 with the optimal being around 5.2, because above 5.3 mozzarella starts being more difficult to stretch. All the above though come from different experiences and techniques, so you have to test and see what works for you.

For your last question taking into account the above mentioned you have quite a flexible range of pH values, however in most practices and no matter the cheese when you have a fixed value you want to work around then usually the range is ±0.15 tops.

Hope this can get you on track to the right direction.

Regards!

Hi evans

thanks for the answer, that explains alot, but also give me more question

such as how do you correlate pH at the milk recieval to the milk at the finish product

but your answer does help explains a lot

Hi evans

thanks for the answer, that explains alot, but also give me more question

such as how do you correlate pH at the milk recieval to the milk at the finish product

and how do you use this pH result, for the next stage and for future production