Hungarian salami

[Albertaed]

Well my Hungarian Salami is coming out of curing chamber. I used 2g/1000 of dextrose (that amount worked the last time I made it) but couldnt’t get the final PH below 5.3. I can live with that I suppose. I keep telling myself to measure the initial Ph and add dextrose accordingly but never seem to do it. I’m going to have to clean my gear and hands next time because I had a full bloom of surface mold as well. I’ll wash it off and then it’s on to cold smoking for a few days.

[Mmmm Meat]

That smoke kill the mold, at least for awhile.

Getting in the habit of hand washing repeatedly during the grind, mix and stuffing is always a good practice. Lots of Staph and other bad bugs that no one wants in their food hang out on human hands. Gloves are probably a better idea, though I've yet to actually implement that practice.

Looking forward to seeing how the Hungarian turns out.

[redzed]

2g/kg of dextrose should be more than enough when fermenting a Hungarian salami because there are sugars in paprika as well. What temp did you ferment at and what starter did you use?

[Albertaed]

I used mondostart classic at 0.0625%. , 70F @90%RH.for 3 days. I have used this formula with good results before so maybe my amounts were off. I may have simply been impatient and should have waited a bit longer but I was a little pressed for time. Anyway it looks pretty good hanging in the chamber.
By the way on a different topic. any charcuterie plate I set out for my family must include your Salami Calabrese.

[jcflorida]

Measuring the initial pH might be a good idea, but it needs to be recalled that pH is a logarithmic scale.

So, lets say that it takes 1 unit of lactic acid to reduce pH from 5.9 to 5.8. Then it takes 10 units to go from 5.8 to 5.7, 100 units from 5.7 to 5.6, . . . . . and a hundred thousand units to go from 5.4 to 5.3. If the starting pH is 5.9 versus 5.6, the bacteria will consume some sugar to generate the 111 units of acid needed to go from 5.9 to 5.6. But this is lost in the noise level with respect to the 100,000 units needed to go from 5.4 to 5.3.

Not trying to be overly nerdy, but my 2 cents worth.

[Mmmm Meat]

I'm scratching my head. The way I understood the pH scale is that it is a tenfold increase or decrease (of acidity or alkalinity) to go one whole pH step.

Google says "The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning that an increase or decrease of an integer value changes the concentration by a tenfold. For example, a pH of 3 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 4. Likewise, a pH of 3 is one hundred times more acidic than a pH of 5. Similarly a pH of 11 is ten times more basic than a pH of 10.Aug 15, 2020".

[jcflorida]

The way I understood the pH scale is that it is a tenfold increase or decrease (of acidity or alkalinity) to go one whole pH step.

You are absolutely right,Mmmm Meat.

I got tenths and full pH points confused, and this entire post

So, lets say that it takes 1 unit of lactic acid to reduce pH from 5.9 to 5.8. Then it takes 10 units to go from 5.8 to 5.7, 100 units from 5.7 to 5.6, . . . . . and a hundred thousand units to go from 5.4 to 5.3. If the starting pH is 5.9 versus 5.6, the bacteria will consume some sugar to generate the 111 units of acid needed to go from 5.9 to 5.6. But this is lost in the noise level with respect to the 100,000 units needed to go from 5.4 to 5.3.

Is completely wrong. I apologize for my error.

[Mmmm Meat]

No worries here. I goof all this stuff up on a regular basis.

[wonderland3]

I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice about how to measure ph in salami that is drying...? I have an electronic Hanna Instruments meat ph tester. I had no trouble measuring the ph before putting the meat into the casings. But I am unsure how to measure the ph now that the salamis are drying. Do you poke a hole through the casing to insert the sensor? Undo the twine at one end? I am just hesitant to do anything that might lead to (unwanted) bacteria getting into the meat. Thanks!

[Indaswamp]

Best way is to leave a small sample piece of mince uncased. Wrap in cling film for fermentation, then unwrap and set in chamber with the salamis. You can test the pH in the sample as it dries....

Just remember to form the test sample into the same diameter as the salami so it will warm up at the same rate as the salami during fermentation. This is especially critical when stuffing larger diameter casings.

[Albertaed]

I don’t bother checking the ph once its drying

[redzed]

I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice about how to measure ph in salami that is drying...? I have an electronic Hanna Instruments meat ph tester. I had no trouble measuring the ph before putting the meat into the casings. But I am unsure how to measure the ph now that the salamis are drying. Do you poke a hole through the casing to insert the sensor? Undo the twine at one end? I am just hesitant to do anything that might lead to (unwanted) bacteria getting into the meat. Thanks!

It is important to measure the pH of the meat used in the process so that you can add the proper amount of sugars for fermentation. Then it is necessary to measure during the fermentation process so that you measure what is happening and when to transfer the salami to the drying chamber. Why do you feel it is necessary to test the pH during the drying?