kitchenware Question about PH tester

[cmwr]

I need help I bought a ph tester several years ago and have never really used it. It came with some calibration powders and instructions. I want to mail a bottle of Datil hot sauce from Iowa to my niece in Texas. My wife is on me about “is it safe to be unrefrigerated for 3-4 days”. I get it. I’m really confident it is fine as this same sauce sometimes sits in the cup holder of my work van on hot July Iowa days and after work it goes back in the fridge and I’ve never gotten sick. But anyways.

I decided to dump a bottle in a small bowl and test it with this new never used PH tester. I turned it on and it says .53 but it toggles from that to 0000. I test the sauce and it reads about 3.8 on the tester.

How often do these things need calibrated? If it toggles from .53 to 0000 and back can you safely assume if anything the reading is .53 higher or is that nonsense? I test then I rinse off under tap water which I know is not right per the instructions. It says to rinse under distilled water and dry with a special cloth. I don’t have that special cloth.

Can someone offer advice

 

[The Hot Pepper]

No, each batch needs to be measured, and if sharing with anybody you really need a meter unless it stays refrigerated.

 

[cmwr]

No, each batch needs to be measured, and if sharing with anybody you really need a meter unless it stays refrigerated.

Got it. I NEVER have nor ever will tell anyone to keep it on the counter. I always tell them to refrigerate. I take this to work for our Monday breakfasts and they keep it in the company fridge. Every Monday it comes back out for breakfast. I also have hot sauce parties with my family making sauce from my recipes. I don’t sell and I never had any intentions to try to at farmers markets or any other place. I basically make sauce for me and I give it away to family and friends that like it

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Still, get a meter! Strips are crap.

Your sauce will tint the test strip PLUS it is not highly accurate. The colors are already close. No way I would use any for sharing my recipes.

If your electrode was stored dry for years, it is toast. There's plenty of decent meters out there for this as a hobby.

To keep this from going in circles I would just say I recommend a meter. Strips are a ballpark measurement for your own use/recipe tinkering. Best of luck!

 

[cmwr]

Still, get a meter! Strips are crap.

Your sauce will tint the test strip PLUS it is not highly accurate. The colors are already close. No way I would use any for sharing my recipes.

If your electrode was stored dry for years, it is toast. There's plenty of decent meters out there for this as a hobby.

To keep this from going in circles I would just say I recommend a meter. Strips are a ballpark measurement for your own use/recipe tinkering. Best of luck!

I had to step away from my phones keyboard yesterday because I was getting overwhelmed and I didn’t want this to keep going back and forth. Today is a new day. I’m gonna see if I can call early tomorrow and cancel my ph strip order. Then I’m going to reevaluate and make some phone calls to some companies and get advice over the phone about their meters etc. I’m old school and prefer to talk on the phone and get all my questions answered vs a text or typed message lol. Too many things get lost in translation when you’re a dummy like me. On another note……yesterday during my Google research I found a thread on these forums I started back in 2019 about buying my first ph meter, which was the one I linked to earlier in this thread and threw away yesterday morning lol. What can I say I can’t remeber what my wife told me yesterday let alone what I posted on an Internet forum 6 years ago . Good golly miss Molly. Ok time to take a breath and make some calls tomorrow. I’m gonna say I think I’m gonna look into Hannah PH testers. I’m big on a company that can give me support plus they have replaceable tips if I don’t use it for a long time.

I just got tracking info this morning that my 20 Datil pepper pods from Florida were going to be shipped soon. A new batch of sauce is waiting so I want to be ready.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Apologies, I didn't mean to cause confusion and have you cancel orders. I was vague on the strips and then kind of poo pooed them lol. If they are made for salsa like it says perhaps the sauce color won't interfere, and half steps are better than full. You may find them useful!

That said, yes, look into a meter. Calling companies is a great idea.

If you have strips and a meter, you can then test the strips for accuracy and know that they work (or not).

PS. Look into Thermoworks. They make the best thermometer in the business so THIS brand I can attest to. In fact, that's the pH meter I will be looking into when I get a chance, for myself. Haven't had the time to take a good look.

 

[cmwr]

Apologies, I didn't mean to cause confusion and have you cancel orders. I was vague on the strips and then kind of poo pooed them lol. If they are made for salsa like it says perhaps the sauce color won't interfere, and half steps are better than full. You may find them useful!

That said, yes, look into a meter. Calling companies is a great idea.

If you have strips and a meter, you can then test the strips for accuracy and know that they work (or not).

PS. Look into Thermoworks. They make the best thermometer in the business so THIS brand I can attest to. In fact, that's the pH meter I will be looking into when I get a chance, for myself. Haven't had the time to take a good look.

No apologies necessary. I appreciate all the feedback. I should have researched harder before I ordered. I will check out thermoworks. I want a decent tester from a company with customer service but I really don’t want to spend a lot. I’ll see what they have. Thanks

 

[cmwr]

By the way. How does this meter Thermoworks compare to this meter Hannah ? I just realized thermoworks is the same company that makes the thermopen instant read thermometer. I have had one of those for years. Yes they do make premium stuff! One thing I like about the Hannah meter is I think it comes with calibration solution. Not sure if it comes with storage solution. The thermoworks meter does not and it is another 40 bucks to get the starter set. Also on the thermoworks page it says if the electrode dries out it needs to be rehydrated. There is no mention of the electrode or the tester being ruined if that happens.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

How does this meter Thermoworks compare to this meter Hannah ?

Haven't had the time to take a good look.

 

[salsalady]

The Hanna tester linked above is the style of my first tester. It had a simple rubber cap, not the beaker-looking thing used for storage.

Sounds like talking to a real person will answer most of your questions. I would always suggest a device over test strips for exactly what the Boss mentioned. The sauce itself could discolor the test strip.

 

[cmwr]

The Hanna tester linked above is the style of my first tester. It had a simple rubber cap, not the beaker-looking thing used for storage.

Sounds like talking to a real person will answer most of your questions. I would always suggest a device over test strips for exactly what the Boss mentioned. The sauce itself could discolor the test strip.

Tomorrow phones will be ringing

 

[cmwr]

Well all I can say it sure pays off to do business with a reputable company based out of the US. Thermoworks let me speak to a tech support guy this morning who answered ALL my questions. And if it weren’t for him I would have ordered a tester with less features. I didn’t realize that the ph changed with the temp of the fluid being tested! Thanks to his advice I now know that and was able to spend another $10 for a meter that had temp correction built in. Heck yeah. This dude talked to me patiently for 25 minutes before I gave him my payment info to order. So I now have this METER coming with a starter pack of solutions.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Thanks for doing legwork for myself as well! I've been in the market for one and didn't know they made that particular one. I love Thermoworks! Woohoo! (for you and me!)

 

[INTLgunMonkey]

Well all I can say it sure pays off to do business with a reputable company based out of the US. Thermoworks let me speak to a tech support guy this morning who answered ALL my questions. And if it weren’t for him I would have ordered a tester with less features. I didn’t realize that the ph changed with the temp of the fluid being tested! Thanks to his advice I now know that and was able to spend another $10 for a meter that had temp correction built in. Heck yeah. This dude talked to me patiently for 25 minutes before I gave him my payment info to order. So I now have this METER coming with a starter pack of solutions.

Thermoworks is fantastic stuff. I don’t use their PH meter, specifically, but based on my experience with their thermometers, it’s probably difficult to buy better quality than their equipment.

I use an Apera PH meter, and it looks at least similar in design to the one you just bought.

Don’t be intimidated by the storage and calibration. Yes, the bulb needs to be kept wet, in the proper solution, but the better PH meter makers have thought this through. It should have an o-ring sealed cap that prevents the solution from leaking out. I store mine with the case upright, to further reduce the chances of it leaking, and often go 6 months without looking at it. Never had a problem with the bulb drying out.



As far as the testing sample, temperature, and returning it to the pot- that becomes pretty easy as well.

If you start (start) from trusted recipes, and keep even basic notes, you’ll quickly develop a feel for what’s going to be shelf stable, and the PH-check will become just that; a check. I’ve been making sauces for somewhere around 10 years, and it’s been something like 9 years since I made one that came out too high (plus plenty of margin).

I’m not saying to ignore the PH aspect, because it IS important. It’s VERY important. I’m just saying that you’re probably going to realize pretty quickly that the target is not difficult to hit reliably.

As far as the sample goes, I take a bit from the pot, prior to bottling, and put it into a shot glass- good shape for efficient testing with my meter. I then rapidly chill it in ice water. My meter self-calibrates to temp, but it’s still safer to test nearer the temperature you’re going to store it. I stir the sample frequently, and get it down to somewhere around 70f (ish, like 60-90, really)- checked with my trusty Thermoworks thermometer. You can cool a sample that size, in that way, in about 5-10 minutes, while your batch stays heated. It’s also a good chance to get to taste what you’ve made closer to the temperature you’re going to use it.

Once I get a test result off the room-temp sample, I toss it in the fridge and bottle/can the cooking batch. The shot glass sample never goes back in the pot, but then you have a bit of your newest batch ready to use right away.

 

[cmwr]

Thermoworks is fantastic stuff. I don’t use their PH meter, specifically, but based on my experience with their thermometers, it’s probably difficult to buy better quality than their equipment.

I use an Apera PH meter, and it looks at least similar in design to the one you just bought.

Don’t be intimidated by the storage and calibration. Yes, the bulb needs to be kept wet, in the proper solution, but the better PH meter makers have thought this through. It should have an o-ring sealed cap that prevents the solution from leaking out. I store mine with the case upright, to further reduce the chances of it leaking, and often go 6 months without looking at it. Never had a problem with the bulb drying out.



As far as the testing sample, temperature, and returning it to the pot- that becomes pretty easy as well.

If you start (start) from trusted recipes, and keep even basic notes, you’ll quickly develop a feel for what’s going to be shelf stable, and the PH-check will become just that; a check. I’ve been making sauces for somewhere around 10 years, and it’s been something like 9 years since I made one that came out too high (plus plenty of margin).

I’m not saying to ignore the PH aspect, because it IS important. It’s VERY important. I’m just saying that you’re probably going to realize pretty quickly that the target is not difficult to hit reliably.

As far as the sample goes, I take a bit from the pot, prior to bottling, and put it into a shot glass- good shape for efficient testing with my meter. I then rapidly chill it in ice water. My meter self-calibrates to temp, but it’s still safer to test nearer the temperature you’re going to store it. I stir the sample frequently, and get it down to somewhere around 70f (ish, like 60-90, really)- checked with my trusty Thermoworks thermometer. You can cool a sample that size, in that way, in about 5-10 minutes, while your batch stays heated. It’s also a good chance to get to taste what you’ve made closer to the temperature you’re going to use it.

Once I get a test result off the room-temp sample, I toss it in the fridge and bottle/can the cooking batch. The shot glass sample never goes back in the pot, but then you have a bit of your newest batch ready to use right away.

Thank you for this info. It is greatly appreciated and I will definitely use it on my next batch

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Good info @INTLgunMonkey.