Chorizo - ph too low at 4.6?

[reddal]

Hi,

I made my last batch of Chorizo 10 days ago and its been in the chamber since.

During fermentation I tried to test the ph level - but I only have ph paper strips and a cheap ph meter - neither of which was giving very clear results. After 36 hours I think the ph was about 5.4 - ie not quite at the 5.3 I was aiming for - so I left it another couple of hours then turned down the temperature / humidity for drying.

Today I tasted it - and it tastes a little sour compared to previous batches. I tried to test the ph level again - and now I see 4.6.

Question : is the batch ok other than a slightly sour taste? It doesn't taste terrible - but I think I overdid the fermentation so its always going to have that extra sourness. Is it likely to get better or worse?

I guess I have to go buy an expensive ph meter!

- reddal

[Bob K]

Some chorizo is made with vinegar, so a somewhat sour taste may be desirable to some? As far as consuming the batch is fine and it will rise (Ph) slightly when dried.
Did you add more sugar than normal? The temp of fermenting controls how fast the Ph drops, the extent depend on the amount of sugar and length of time at fermenting temps.

Before I even thought about a larger drying chamber I would invest in a decent Ph meter!!!!!!

[reddal]

Some chorizo is made with vinegar, so a somewhat sour taste may be desirable to some?

Yes - it doesn't taste bad - just different. Trouble is I really liked the smooth taste of the higher ph batches.

As far as consuming the batch is fine and it will rise (Ph) slightly when dried.

Thanks - will be interesting to see how it develops.

Did you add more sugar than normal? The temp of fermenting controls how fast the Ph drops, the extent depend on the amount of sugar and length of time at fermenting temps.

Normal amount of sugar - just too long fermenting. I think it was at the right ph a chunk earlier - but my rubbish ph measuring equipment threw me off.

Before I even thought about a larger drying chamber I would invest in a decent Ph meter!!!!!!

Indeed. This has persuaded me of that. Trying to decide which to buy isn't obvious. I'm in the UK which limits options. This one looks good - but is expensive - and annoyingly more than twice as much as the same unit sold in the US with a special deal on the extras.

Anyone got a recommendation for a decent ph meter available in the UK? Or from US if they will ship internationally? Would be perfect if it had a probe that could directly test the Chorizo - but I'll do the slurry thing if I have to. Ideally I'd limit the budget to £200 - but I might have to go higher it seems.

EDIT : This one looks like it will do the job - but its £583! (something like $700). Is there a cheaper way to get accurate control of ph?

thanks - reddal

[Bob K]

If you are good with colors the short range Ph papers will work.

[reddal]

If you are good with colors the short range Ph papers will work.

Thanks - I'll try some different test papers see if I can get better accuracy. The trouble last time was that my best guess from the test papers and the cheap meter I had (which gave different results every time!) was that the ph was 5.4 or so - when in fact I guess it was actually 5.0. So I fermented for longer and pushed it into a low ph.

If I want to be able to reproduce the same results batch after batch - I'm going to need to find a way to more accurately measure the ph so I can catch it at just the right level. Hopefully I can achieve this without having to spend a fortune.

- reddal

[StefanS]

Reddal - read this topic -
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopi ... c&start=15
then check that webside-
http://www.eseasongear.com/phtesting.html
not long ago I got from them this set -
http://www.eseasongear.com/mimwmaforfop.html

[Bob K]

Redzed has purchased probes from this vendor http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=7818

They also ship to the UK. Various meters also available., just make sure it has a BNC connection so can easily exchange/replace probes.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/ ... 0.0.TtfJ7U

[redzed]

Hi reddal. I think you might be getting incorrect pH readings here. To begin with, can you describe your process a bit better? How much and type of of sugar you used, starter culture if any, fermentation temp? How much paprika did you add, and this is important since it can contain about 10% sucrose.

A pH measurement is most valuable in testing the fresh unprepared meat which tells us something of its quality and suitability for dry cured sausage, and then during fermentation to indicate the level of acidification. Once you transfer the sausage to your chamber, the cooler temp and lack of sugar should almost stop further fermentation. After a period of 10 days or longer if in a larger cased product, the pH will start rising. This is mainly the result of enzymatic activity or proteolysis. Often a ripened salami will return to a pH of almost the same as at the start of the process. But by then water activity is very low and no spoilage will occur.

A reading of 4.6 is quite low and any meat product with a pH that low will have tang. But then its a matter of taste, as the Scandinavians like to ferment to that level or even a bit lower. Anther thing to point out here is that the increments of pH are logarithmic, not linear. A drop in pH value from 6 to 5 represents 90 units of hydrogen ion activity, whereby a shift from 5 to 4 represents 900 units. So what that means is that each each whole pH value is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6. So if you start with a normal pH of the meat at 5.8 or 5.7, and have a drop to 4.6, that is huge when it comes to the taste of the sausage.

And I think that all this tells us how really important it is to know and control the pH in the dry cured sausage and having the means to test it. Just like making wine without a hydrometer and a refractometer, you can leave it all to nature, but you wiill never know what the end result will be.

[reddal]

To begin with, can you describe your process a bit better? How much and type of of sugar you used, starter culture if any, fermentation temp? How much paprika did you add, and this is important since it can contain about 10% sucrose.

Sure - as a % of the original meat+fat weight I used :

• Demerara sugar : 0.3%
  Dextrose : 0.4%
  Pimentón paprika : 2.5%
  B-LC-007 Starter Culture : 0.1%

Fermentation was at 22c - which was maintained pretty accurately. It fermented for about 38 hours - which I think was too long (due to me misreading the ph as being too high when it was probably already too low).

A pH measurement is most valuable in testing the fresh unprepared meat which tells us something of its quality and suitability for dry cured sausage,

Thats interesting - I haven't been testing the pH of the fresh meat but I will start. The pork was very fresh - having been slaughtered just the day before and kept cool throughout.

After a period of 10 days or longer if in a larger cased product, the pH will start rising. This is mainly the result of enzymatic activity or proteolysis. Often a ripened salami will return to a pH of almost the same as at the start of the process. But by then water activity is very low and no spoilage will occur.

Thats good to know - most of the batch was done in 55mm beef middles - so hopefully the pH will rise a little and lessen the tang. I've read a bit about water activity - and was tempted to get a meter - until I saw how much they cost! Am I also going to conclude I need a water activity meter down the line? We are planning to start selling the chorizo to people if all goes to plan - can I be confident the product is safe without a water activity meter?

And I think that all this tells us how really important it is to know and control the pH in the dry cured sausage and having the means to test it. Just like making wine without a hydrometer and a refractometer, you can leave it all to nature, but you wiill never know what the end result will be.

Yes - I've learned that now! I've got 20 something kg in this batch - so hopefully it works out ok - even if it has a slightly different taste. I'm going to buy a Milwaukee MW102 meter as recommended above to be able to really get control of the pH issue.

Thanks again for all your help - reddal

[redzed]

Hmm, well now we know why the pH dropped to 4.6. You have three times the amount of sugar in there, with the 10% amount in the paprika, it's 9.5 grams per kg. I have used 007 numerous times and learned that 3g/kg is more than adequate to bring the pH from 5.8 to 5.2 and even a bit lower. I have also found that 007 acidifies faster than advertised and to slow it down I now ferment at 19-20°. If you ferment fast the micrococci don't have a chance to do their job. A water activity meter would be useful, but once you start practicing the "hurdle technology", you can be quite confident that your water activity level is brought down to an acceptable level.

[reddal]

I have used 007 numerous times and learned that 3g/kg is more than adequate to bring the pH from 5.8 to 5.2 and even a bit lower. I have also found that 007 acidifies faster than advertised and to slow it down I now ferment at 19-20°. If you ferment fast the micrococci don't have a chance to do their job.

Thanks - I'll reduce the sugar and ferment at 20c for the next batch. How long does your fermentation typically take to get pH from 5.8 to 5.2 under those conditions?

thanks - reddal

[redzed]

When I first started using it I was 36 hours or less. I now really watch the amount of sugar and ferment at a colder temp 18-20 and usually get to 5.2 in 48 hours or less. I work with frozen fat and very cold meat, so for the first 12 hours or so there is almost no change in the pH. Then after 24 hours the bacteria get going and lower the pH quickly. In order to get that complex but mild Southern European flavour you need slower bacterial activity, aim for achieving your goal in the 48 - 72 hour range. As far as as your chorizo, try adding only 2g/kg dextrose since you will have at least another 2g. of sucrose in the paprika. That should be a good combination since the bacteria will consume the dextrose immediately and the sucrose more slowly over a longer period of time.