Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

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ronbo
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Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by ronbo » Sat Jan 30, 2021 20:13

Hi All,
Im having trouble getting the final fermentation pH of some Spanish Salchichon down to below 5.3. The pH has stalled at 5.6 after 74 hours. Im concerned about the safety of this and wondering about how to proceed and humbly asking for guidance. Im pretty much stumped at this point. Any advice you can provide would be very much appreciated.

Background:
Using a brand new Hanna HI981036 pH meter which I carefully calibrated using new solutions at 68F and compensating for the slight variance off of the standard 77F.

Im making a 5Kg batch of salumi with Umai casings. Three types, each approx 1670g. Spanish Salchicon, Finocchiona, and Andaluz Chorizo. All from the same two butts in the same double pack from Costco in North Carolina. Recipes are from Marianski's Art of Making Fermented Sausages. Fresh, new (stored in freezer) Hansen T-SPX started used in all three. I scale the recipes per the total weight of meat/fat and measure all ingredients using precision scales with 0.1 degree resolution.

Proper sanitation and temperature control was observed throughout the production process. Salchichon and Finnochhiona in 50mm Umai casing and the Chorizo in 32mm Umai casing. Fermentation chamber is consistently at 85-90% humidity and temperature varies from 63-66F. I didnt make initial pH readings at zero hour as it was quite late. But the whole production process went well and I figured I would be testing pH at the 24 hour mark anyway. Samples of each mince were saved from horn remnants, placed in small sealed ziplock bags with most of the air removed, and placed in fermentation chamber.

The fermentation initially proceed as expected and the pH meter appeared to function correctly with readings coming quickly and with little variance regardless of the multiple locations where the sample was probed. Probe was rinsed between each sample tested and cleaned using recommended cleaners and methods after each session.

22 hours at 90%H, 66F:
Chorizo 5.78
Finocchiona 5.87
Salchichon 6.0

50 hours at 90%H, 68F:
Chorizo 5.05
Finocchiona 5.10
Salchichon 5.62
NOTE: I pulled the chorizo and fino out of fermentation at this point and placed them in the prepared standard refrigerator for drying. Color was pink and aroma pleasing.

74 hours at 90%H, 68-70F:
Salchichon 5.60
NOTE: Color is pink and aroma is pleasing, but ph seems to have plateaued at 5.6.
NOTE: Although chorizo and fino were pulled, I kept their samples in fermentation to further monitor the pH. Both had no change from their 50 hour values of 5.0 and 5.1, respectively.

At this point (hour 92) I have the Salchichon still in fermentation at 90%H and 70F. Im trying to keep the temperature up in the low 70s but I afraid of overshooting past 74F. Im going to test again later today at the 98 hour mark. But Im suspecting that the pH will still be above 5.3.

Production Notes:
- All three recipes used the same amount of T-SPX at 0.2-0.3g per 1670g mince, salt 3%, cure #2 0.2-0.24%, and dextrose 0.2%.
- The recipes differed in the type of additional sugar used. The Chorizo and Fino used white sugar 0.2%. The Salchichon called for lactose 0.8% as non-fat dry milk.
- I used regular grocery store non-fat dry milk granules since Ive used them before in smoked kielbasa recipes per Marianski.
- It was difficult to be confident that the measurement of T-SPX was accurate because the amount was so small at only 0.2g. I measured it three times, each time going a bit over to 0.5g and then taking some out to get to 0.2g the best I could. For each recipe the amount visually appeared to be about the same.

So, I think that covers the important production elements. Any thoughts on why the Salchichon appears to be bottoming out at 5.6? Im concerned that it wont be safe to move to the drying phase and eventually safe for consumption if I dont reach 5.3. Im hoping that that hours 72 to 98 will bring it down, but Im doubtful since the other two reached pH minimums after 50 hours. My best guess is that the non-fat dry milk has messed up the internal chemistry of the fermentation process. Please help! Id prefer not to have to throw out this Salchichon. It looks quite delicious!

Any advice you can provide would be very much appreciated.
Thank you for sharing your expertise with us beginners!

Cheers! - Ronbo
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redzed
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by redzed » Sun Jan 31, 2021 07:21

Thanks for the detailed description about the issue.
To begin with, I don't think that the pH will drop any further, so move the salchichon to the chamber. At this stage there is nothing to gain by holding it at that temp any longer. If there is any fermentable carbohydrate left, it can still be metabolized in the chamber. If the meat was from the same source for all three sausages, we can rule out contamination or antibiotics. However, the 6.0 pH, even after 22 hours seems somewhat unusual. But I think we are down to inadequate amount of culture or sugars. If the starting pH was 6 or even higher, 2g of dextrose would not be enough to bring it down to 5.3. Lactose is a poor and rarely used sugar in sausage fermentation. To begin with, it is metabolized very slowly and an addition of lactose will lower the pH only about 40% of the level that glucose or sucrose would. Furthermore, the milk powder you used is only about 50% lactose, maybe even less. In other words .8% of milk powder would be equivalent to .2% of glucose or sucrose. Perhaps that's main cause of the problem, slow fermentation or perhaps defective milk powder. Ideally pure glucose should be used in for this purpose. I'm surprised to see a recipe calling for lactose, can you provide a link or screenshot of the recipe?

The salchichon might still turn out OK. Fortunately you added a good amount of salt which is really the first and best hurdle, as it slows the waters activity as soon as it's mixed in withe meat. It will probably dry a bit longer, and won't be as firm as the other two sausages, but there's good odds it will be quite edible.
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by StefanS » Sun Jan 31, 2021 14:57

IMO - main reason is non fat dry milk. P. pantosaceus is practically not fermenting lactose (or in minimal amount _CHR Hansen manual, T-SPX spreadsheet). Additionally - amount of lactose used in your recipe can change starting pH level towards neutral zone because pH of non-fat dry milk is around 6.7-6.8. Agree with Redzed that salchichon might still turn out OK.
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redzed
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by redzed » Sun Jan 31, 2021 16:54

StefanS wrote:
Sun Jan 31, 2021 14:57
Additionally - amount of lactose used in your recipe can change starting pH level towards neutral zone because pH of non-fat dry milk is around 6.7-6.8.
Good point Stefan, that might explain the 6.0 reading.
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by Indaswamp » Sun Jan 31, 2021 17:27

All very good points made. redzed & StefanS you are both a wealth of information. Thank you both for sharing your knowledge! I learn from every post!
ronbo
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by ronbo » Sun Jan 31, 2021 19:48

Redzed and StefanS,
Thank you so much for your guidance. I think your analysis make great sense. I pulled the salchichon out of fermentation at 98 hours as its still registered ph 5.6. Into the fridge it went. Im including two pictures of it so you can judge color, etc if you like. Its color looks a nice pink, the aroma is pleasing, and the texture is still firm as one would expect.

So, if I understand correctly:
1. The starting pH of the salchichon must have been above 6.0 because the high pH of the milk powder raised the overall pH of the entire meat mass at zero hour.
2. Then, because the milk powder isnt 100% lactose, AND the lactose is only partially (maybe 40%) assimilatable (is that a word?!?!) the meat mass was starved for the appropriate amount of sugars for the TSPX to feed on to reduce the pH to 5.3 or less.
3. In summary, the pH started too high (maybe 6.1-6.2?) and then only had enough sugars to drop it to 5.6. A total drop of approx 0.5-0.6 as compared to the pH drop of approx 0.8-0.9 that the Chorizo and Fino had (presuming they started at 5.9-6.0, the typical ph of plain pork).

Im attaching links to photos of the conflicting recipes from Marianski for the Salchichon. In "Art of Ferm" he uses milk powder (lactose 0.8%), but in "Spanish Sausages" he omits milk powder and used sugar (0.3%). Perhaps the use of milk powder was a typo or it use has been found to be ineffective and the new book (Spanish Sausages) reflects that change in approach. In any case, I WILL NOT be using milk powder in fermented products again! LOL!

Here are links to the pictures (I hope!)

https://postimg.cc/gallery/PNqY6rq

https://postimg.cc/gallery/PNqY6rq

Love to hear any further comments or suggestions. Thank you again for all your help.
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redzed
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by redzed » Mon Feb 01, 2021 15:36

I don't know where the heck he got that first recipe from. And even his calculations the are wrong. .8% in 5kg of product is 40g not 80g. The second recipe makes more sense, but it would be better to use a starter with it.

One thing that I noticed in your picture is that the umai tubes appear to be loosely stuffed. Try to stuff them really tight to avoid air pockets and mould growth between the meat and the casing. Umai is very strong and it will stretch a long way before it would burst.
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Re: Spanish Salchicon fermentaion pH too high. Need advice

Post by ronbo » Tue Feb 02, 2021 02:03

Thanks for the comments and the suggestion of stuffing the casings more tightly.

While they did fill out pretty well and I didnt notice any air gaps, I did have a difficult time filling them. Its the first time I had used the 50mm casing. I was using a 1 inch dia stuffing tube, which is the largest I own. It shouldnt have been hard as I have stuffed Umai and natural casings many times before. Despite holding the casing around the end of the tube with as firm a grip that would still allow it to slide off when getting filled, I was getting back-flow of mince around the tube underneath my hand.

Perhaps I should get a larger diameter tube for these casings. Ive got some 70mm casings that look like a bigger tube would server well there too. In the future Im going to have to tighten up my grip and really make the Umai "feel the strain"!

Thanks again for all the help! - Ronbo
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