pH PH level changes changes with percentages of water added and removed

[dragon49]

I'm not too worried about my cranberry, lemon, and lime based sauces coming in over 4.0, but I'm not sure about other things that I may want to try.  If a batch tests too high after I boil it down, I don't want to have to change the flavor by adding a bunch of vinegar, and I don't want to have to dump it back into the blender to add more ingredients and re-boil, then test again.
 
I'm assuming that if I add water to hot sauce and mix it so the ingredients are evenly placed in the container, this will test higher than the original batch.  If this is true, then there must be a specific mathematical formula that governs how much the PH will lower, with each percentage of water that is boiled off.  If these two assumptions are true and the formula is known, then I can do the following:
 
1 - Make a small batch in a blender and puree.  
2 - Pour one cup of the puree into a container and measure the P.H.
3 - Weigh the container, subtracting the known weight of the empty container.  
4 - Weigh a cup of hot sauce that I've already made (also subtracting the known weight of that container) which will have been boiled down to a more jelly like state.
 
Since I know that the weight of a cup of water is 0.52158775 Pounds, and I'll want to boil down the new batch to the exact consistency of the original batch, I can compare the weights of the two batches, and figure out the exact percentage of water that I will plan on boiling out of the new batch.  I can then apply the PH to water formula to the new batch and figure out if it will be less than 4.0 after it is boiled down to my desired consistency.  If the batch will be below 4.0, I of course will be adding the same percentages of ingredients and water to the rest of the new batch before re-pureeing.  I will of course be adding more water to the batch before boiling it down, in order to give the boiling process time to "kill off all of the nasties."  Thanks salsalady!  However, the amount of water that I add after pureeing will not make a difference, as I will still be boiling it down to the consistency of the batch of sauce that I like.
 
So, assuming that there indeed is a formula to determine how much PH will lower with each percentage of water being removed, can somebody please reply with the formula.
 
Thanks

 

[juanitos]

depends on the ph of the water and whats in the water you are removing. When boinling off you will remove the h2o but leave behind any minerals. If you are using distilled or RO water this shouldn't be problem. if you are using tap you will have to get baseline of your tap water. county usually supplies that info or you can test yourself.

 

[dragon49]

depends on the ph of the water and whats in the water you are removing. When boinling off you will remove the h2o but leave behind any minerals. If you are using distilled or RO water this shouldn't be problem. if you are using tap you will have to get baseline of your tap water. county usually supplies that info or you can test yourself.

I just tested my tap water that I always use for sauces and it came in at 6.9.  It has always tested this exact number.  I know that it has minerals and chlorine, because If I boil a large pot of water until nothing is left, there will be a white residue coating the bottom of the pot.  This also shows up on my clay pots after many waterings.
 
My area gets water from very good reservoirs, but I believe it is treated because of an aging pipe delivery system.  Here is a chart of what is in my drinking supply:
 
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate14.pdf
 
With my new information, is it possible to get a formula, or an approximate formula?

 

[juanitos]

maybe get 2 cups of water, boil till you have 1 cup left. measure the change in ph and there you go that's your formula

 

[Redeemer]

Ascorbic acid has a ph of 3.0 and I don't know what the ph of lactic acid is but I suspect it can easily be discovered. You could consider adding them to your finished product to lower the PH without significantly altering the flavor profile.

 

[salsalady]

I came back to read this again, and if I understand correctly you are concerned with finished pH and lowering pH by removing/boiling off water?
 
 
I haven't done a whole lot with adding ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to sauces to lower pH but I think I'd try that and if it did give a bit of a tart taste, that can be easily compensated with just a bit of sugar/sweetener.  Not enough to make the sauce taste sweet, but just enough to compensate for the tart VitC.  That won't change the consistency much. 
 
 
I've always included vinegar/citrus as part of the flavor profile, but after this brief discussion, now I'm wondering about using ascorbic acid in sauces.  I have a green jalapeno/tomatillo sauce I've been playing with to make at an upcoming community Making Hot Sauce class.  I think I'll try some ascorbic acid in the next test batch.
 
Thanks guys!  Now I have another "excuse" to play around in the kitchen! 
You should be able to find ascorbic acid (Vit C) at most health food stores and I think that a product called Fruit Fresh is pretty much ascorbic acid but I think Fruit Fresh has a couple other ingredients in it.  Can't remember, it's been years since I looked at the label...
 
Ascorbic acid is also readily available at tons of websites.  I've purchase through PureBulk in the past, but you probably don't need a pound of ascorbic acid.