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At what temp do you test PH?

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well, since liquids can ionize more at higher temps (releasing more H+ ions), therefore, the acidity can appear to decrease with temperature. so, if you want to be really careful, you should cool a sample to room temp (where you'll likely be storing it) to test it. however, this mostly applies to water, so if you are using vinegar or fermenting to a certain pH, then it probably won't be affected enough by temperature to make much difference.
 
personally, i test the pH of a mixture or ferment before I start cooking it.
 
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I just ordered a PH meter online. I lookde at some things about "calibrating" the meter. I didn't think about that before I ordered it. Then it led me to purchasing some products to mix with distilled water in order to calibrate the meter. It also talked about making sure that the temperature was correct, etc.  
 
How critical is this calibration  / water temperature in terms of establishing a reasonable known ph factor?  I like the idea of making a few bottles of sauce using the sterilization method rather than a full on canning approach. But if the canning method is rock solid safe, maybe it's the way to go?
 
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Seno Gringo said:
I just ordered a PH meter online. I lookde at some things about "calibrating" the meter. I didn't think about that before I ordered it. Then it led me to purchasing some products to mix with distilled water in order to calibrate the meter. It also talked about making sure that the temperature was correct, etc.  
 
How critical is this calibration  / water temperature in terms of establishing a reasonable known ph factor?  I like the idea of making a few bottles of sauce using the sterilization method rather than a full on canning approach. But if the canning method is rock solid safe, maybe it's the way to go?
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No worries calibrating is simple and I always test after cooling as hoibot has pointed out :)

Most of my sauces are ferments so the ph is usually very low but just simple made sauces should be ph checked for safety. Also hot water bath canning process doesn't guarantee all microbes are killed off only pressure canning can accomplish this. Definitely read up on fermenting 101, hot sauce making 101 being safe is no joking matter. ): I ph check everything!! :)
 
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Some pH meters can test heated product, others cannot.  There should be some information with the meter to say what temp range it works in. 
 
Most meters require a 2 point calibration, 7 and 4 or 7 and 10.  Depending on what pH range you are testing, that should be the range of calibration to do, and for sauces that is the 7 and 4 range.  You are "supposed" to calibrate before each use, or at least after a period of storage.  The probes are stored in 7.1 solution.  Never let the probe dry out.
 
If you want a quick test while cooking the sauce, put a small metal or glass dish/ramekin in the freezer, then put a bit of heated sauce in it.  The sauce will cool enough to do a quick pH test.
 
Have Fun!
SL
 
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oldsalty said:
No worries calibrating is simple and I always test after cooling as hoibot has pointed out :)

Most of my sauces are ferments so the ph is usually very low but just simple made sauces should be ph checked for safety. Also hot water bath canning process doesn't guarantee all microbes are killed off only pressure canning can accomplish this. Definitely read up on fermenting 101, hot sauce making 101 being safe is no joking matter. ): I ph check everything!! :)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the reply oldsalty. And echoing the importance of safety and checking the ph. I know the stuff that I made recently had a high ph because it was vinegar and citrus heavy.I gave out a couple of bottles to close neighbors. I had mine in the fridge for three weeks before I learned about the dangers. I then went back to my friends and told them to get rid of the bottles. 

salsalady said:
Some pH meters can test heated product, others cannot.  There should be some information with the meter to say what temp range it works in. 
 
Most meters require a 2 point calibration, 7 and 4 or 7 and 10.  Depending on what pH range you are testing, that should be the range of calibration to do, and for sauces that is the 7 and 4 range.  You are "supposed" to calibrate before each use, or at least after a period of storage.  The probes are stored in 7.1 solution.  Never let the probe dry out.
 
If you want a quick test while cooking the sauce, put a small metal or glass dish/ramekin in the freezer, then put a bit of heated sauce in it.  The sauce will cool enough to do a quick pH test.
 
Have Fun!
SL
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Thanks for that information salsalady. I did also order a calibration kit with what you reccomended ( 4 and 7). I didn't know about letting the probe dry out so that's a valuable tip. Also, bringing a sample of the sauce down to a temp for testing. And this means that you are testing at the final stage. I wondered about testing first and then you would be cooking off some of the acid which would maybe change the ph?
 
Because your username is "salsalady". I wanted to ask this.. I make a green salsa (salsa verde). My friend is Mexican and I have been to his house for great mexican barbecues where they make traditional salsa verde with roasted tomatias, etc. I make my own version, but I don't use green tomatoes, I use red tomatoes and I don't roast them . I use them fresh. Everything is uncooked. I use cilantro with lots of stems, fresh green Jalapeno pepper, Freshly squeezed lime, cloves of garlic, fresh red tomato, fresh onion, a little dried oregano (not much), some freshly ground cumin, salt, a couple of dashes of whatever hot sauce I have around.  I use a Cuisinart Classic food processor and blast it all together. I can regulate the viscosity with more or less lime juice or even add more cilantro to make it thicker. At the last stage I add some grapeseed oil to smooth it out and blast that all together in the cuisinart. I have used this up to two weeks in the fridge. This has become a staple sauce for me nd I use it daily on corn tortillas with homemade refried beans and Cojita cheese and homemade lime pickled serano peppers and onions.  Because this is all fresh ingredients, is there a danger using this and keeping it in the fridge for a couple of weeks?
 
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Senor Gringo said:
 
Thanks for the reply oldsalty. And echoing the importance of safety and checking the ph. I know the stuff that I made recently had a high (low!!!) ph because it was vinegar and citrus heavy.I gave out a couple of bottles to close neighbors. I had mine in the fridge for three weeks before I learned about the dangers. I then went back to my friends and told them to get rid of the bottles. 
 
Acidity and pH numbers are inverse, the higher the acidity of a product (aka.... the more vinegar added to a sauce) the lower the pH number.     A product with a pH of 5.7 is low in acidity, and should have more acids added to it to get it to an acceptable pH range. 
 
pH 7.0 is pH neutral, pH 4.0 is the target for home/hobby sauces and better yet is pH 3.5 for hobby sauces. 

Thanks for that information salsalady. I did also order a calibration kit with what you reccomended ( 4 and 7). I didn't know about letting the probe dry out so that's a valuable tip. Also, bringing a sample of the sauce down to a temp for testing. And this means that you are testing at the final stage. I wondered about testing first and then you would be cooking off some of the acid which would maybe change the ph?
 
Because your username is "salsalady". I wanted to ask this.. I make a green salsa (salsa verde). My friend is Mexican and I have been to his house for great mexican barbecues where they make traditional salsa verde with roasted tomatias, etc. I make my own version, but I don't use green tomatoes, I use red tomatoes and I don't roast them . I use them fresh. Everything is uncooked. I use cilantro with lots of stems, fresh green Jalapeno pepper, Freshly squeezed lime, cloves of garlic, fresh red tomato, fresh onion, a little dried oregano (not much), some freshly ground cumin, salt, a couple of dashes of whatever hot sauce I have around.  I use a Cuisinart Classic food processor and blast it all together. I can regulate the viscosity with more or less lime juice or even add more cilantro to make it thicker. At the last stage I add some grapeseed oil to smooth it out and blast that all together in the cuisinart. I have used this up to two weeks in the fridge. This has become a staple sauce for me nd I use it daily on corn tortillas with homemade refried beans and Cojita cheese and homemade lime pickled serano peppers and onions.  Because this is all fresh ingredients, is there a danger using this and keeping it in the fridge for a couple of weeks?
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Sorry foir the LARGE FONT BOLD REPLY.  I'm not shouting,  just trying to reply to a couple topics.
 
 
 
Regarding the fresh salsa thing-
Consider the sauce you are making as any other fresh cut vegetables.  There may be a bit of "preservative' effect from the vinegar in any other sauce used or from the lime juice but I wouldn't count it as much more than a few days worth of "preservative" effect.  It's a fresh salsa and will last in the fridge as long as any of the fresh veggies used in the salsa will normally stay fresh in a fridge.  3 -10 days???? 
 
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Thank you salsalady !! I did get that value reversed. No worries about bold. I don't interpret that as shouting, it's clarification and underlining important info. What I really see with making hot sauce is that before anything else happens, the safety issue has to be taken care of as a bottom line. Then after that you can start to play with other stuff...and not worry about anything.
 
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FDA-
 
"Potentially hazardous food" does not include:
  1. (i) An air-cooled hard-boiled egg with shell intact;
  2. (ii) A food with an aw value of 0.85 or less;
  3. (iii) A food with a pH level of 4.6 or below when measured at 24 °C (75 °F)
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 Hope that helps
 
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