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pH What happens to ph levels over time
- Thread starter hot stuff
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My questions to you are what are you fermenting, why are you fermenting, what acids have you already added to the mix, and how do you plan to introduce the lactohot stuff said:
Lactobacillus will produce lactic acid if there are sugars there to ferment. Lactic acid has a lower pKa than Acetic acid, which means it dissociates to produce H+ (or H3O+) easier and can therefore push the pH lower than acetic acid, obviously depending on the relative concentrations.
Dependence on pH for viability/growth depends on the species of Lactobacillus you use.
L.acidophilus has a pH optimum of around pH 5, but is fine down to pH 3-3.5, but again it does depend on the specific strain you use. Many have been selected over the years, all with slightly different characteristics.
L.delbrueckii var bulgaricus is also use a lot. The characteristics are very similar to L.acidophilus. You can buy this one from White labs.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus is more acid tolerant than most and can live at pH 2, as long as there are sugars present. I use this one. It is trademarked under the name Lactobacillus GG and is found in Culturele Probiotic capsules.
Dependence on pH for viability/growth depends on the species of Lactobacillus you use.
L.acidophilus has a pH optimum of around pH 5, but is fine down to pH 3-3.5, but again it does depend on the specific strain you use. Many have been selected over the years, all with slightly different characteristics.
L.delbrueckii var bulgaricus is also use a lot. The characteristics are very similar to L.acidophilus. You can buy this one from White labs.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus is more acid tolerant than most and can live at pH 2, as long as there are sugars present. I use this one. It is trademarked under the name Lactobacillus GG and is found in Culturele Probiotic capsules.
i've only done 4 ferments, but every time, the pH has been consistently ~ 3.5 after a period of ~30 days. i'm pretty sure I've read RocketMan has similar results from most of his ferments.
i don't add any culture to my ferments, i just let what's there take care of business, so i don't know exactly what lacto/others are present.
i can't imagine any reason that pH would increase over time unless some agent was added to alter it. i would expect the pH of fermented or acidified hot sauce to maintain its pH for a fairly long period. if for some reason after pasteurizing your sauce and bottling it, conditions returned after opening a container to start fermenting again it could become even lower in pH, but I think if you let a ferment finish there probably won't be many sugars available to make a significant change.
i don't add any culture to my ferments, i just let what's there take care of business, so i don't know exactly what lacto/others are present.
i can't imagine any reason that pH would increase over time unless some agent was added to alter it. i would expect the pH of fermented or acidified hot sauce to maintain its pH for a fairly long period. if for some reason after pasteurizing your sauce and bottling it, conditions returned after opening a container to start fermenting again it could become even lower in pH, but I think if you let a ferment finish there probably won't be many sugars available to make a significant change.