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Need to convert acidity to pH

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dragon49

Salsalady - If you are around, can you please chime in on this - Ty.
 
I want to make some puree tomorrow but don't have any pH calibration liquid.  My tap water is usually neutral (6.9-7.1) and if I have to I can use it to calibrate my pH meter, but I'd prefer to use a substance with a known pH.  I have a bottle of balsamic vinegar and the label reads, "minimum 6% acidity," and a bottle of red wine vinegar which reads "5% acidity."  Can I convert one of those figures into pH to use as a calibration liquid?
 
I did a quick Google search on the matter and can't find any simple formula—I'm tired after a long day, so please forgive me if I missed any obvious links.
 
Thanks 
 
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OK, this is a new one!   Dragon~,  I have no idea!   :lol:
 
 
So, let's start at the beginning.  What kind of puree are you making?  If it's the classic AJ's Puree that's been posted here and (TONS) of us have made it, I wouldn't worry about the pH.  Follow the recipe, it's good. 
 
Maybe some other people who are way smarter than me can figure out how to correlate % acidity to pH.  There's probably a list somewhere on the interwhebz that lists the pH of white vinegar, balsamic, etc, and that would be a start.  If you totally get no results from that lead, post back here.  Perhaps someone with a pH meter could test a couple vinegars to see what numbers comes up. 
edit- we're heading out early in the morning to set some gear and pipe, I can do it later in the day, I just wasn't sure when you were wanting to make the puree, and thought someone else with a pH meter could maybe do it tonight or in the morning. 
 
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salsalady said:
OK, this is a new one!   Dragon~,  I have no idea!   :lol:
 
 
So, let's start at the beginning.  What kind of puree are you making?  If it's the classic AJ's Puree that's been posted here and (TONS) of us have made it, I wouldn't worry about the pH.  Follow the recipe, it's good. 
 
Maybe some other people who are way smarter than me can figure out how to correlate % acidity to pH.  There's probably a list somewhere on the interwhebz that lists the pH of white vinegar, balsamic, etc, and that would be a start.  If you totally get no results from that lead, post back here.  Perhaps someone with a pH meter could test a couple vinegars to see what numbers comes up. 

edit- we're heading out early in the morning to set some gear and pipe, I can do it later in the day, I just wasn't sure when you were wanting to make the puree, and thought someone else with a pH meter could maybe do it tonight or in the morning. 
Click to expand...
This must be complicated if salsalady can't answer :)
 
Thanks for the link - I hadn't seen the recipe for A.J.s puree before, but this is basically what I had intended on doing.  I have 34 Yellow 7 Pots in my freezer.  The plan was to throw them in the blender with a little salt, a little sugar, (agave sounds better) and something to lower the pH.  Then, boil it down to "kill the nasties."  From an FAQ here (probably from you) I always make sure that my sauces have a pH of < 4.0.
 
I'm looking at the picture in the recipe thread, and it looks like there are more than 34 pods, but not a ton more, so I'm guessing that I will be more than safe if I use 60 ml 5% White Distilled Vinegar, or (I prefer Apple Cider or Red Wine Vinegar) a different type of vinegar with the same acicidy.
 
Edit - I'm probably going to make the puree in the late afternoon or early evening, so if you could test a vinegar or 2  and post it, I would appreciate it.
 
Ty
 
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JeffH thanks for pointing that out.

If there isn't a pressure cooker available, add a bit more vinegar and do a boiling g water bath or freeze.
 
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I don't have a pressure cooker, but I' think I've done a reasonable job of calibrating my pH meter.  According to various internet sources, lime juice has a pH of between 2.0 and 2.4.  My Meter tested lime juice at 3.3.  It also tested my tap water at 7.6.  I'm guessing that that my lime juice is actually around 2.3, since I doubt my tap is less then 6.6, but to be perfectly safe, I'll consider my meter to be off by +1.3.  I don't have a screwdriver handy to adjust the instrument, so I'll just adjust the puree readout in my head.  I'm confident that I'll make something safe, as the last time (a few weeks ago) that I calibrated the meter, it was off by +.9, so the extra .4 leeway to be conservative, will be a good safety net.
 
I'll post pictures and my final recipe in a different thread, later this afternoon, or early this evening.
 
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