www.sausagemaking.org

Hey Gang.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a good (I think) PH meter. It's a Hanna Instruments that's apparently designed for meat. I made a batch of nduja today. Fatty and sticky.

I'm running out of the small amount of cleaning solution that came with the unit. Looking at the cleaning solution they sell for this stuff I was shocked. $41 plus shipping and tax for 25, 20ml sachets. That's ridiculous. No way!

I'm reading that garden variety isopropyl alcohol does the job well. Also, "detergent" comes up but it gives no mention of the type of detergent or what concentration. I'm hoping some of you can share what you do to clean your glass probes without damaging them.

While we're at it.... I'm going to assume there's a less costly fluid I can use for storage solution than what they're selling. Does anyone have any insight on this?

Happy salumi season!

We use isopropyl alcohol at the chemical company where I work to clean oily materials from the electrodes followed by deionized water. We never use detergents. If we measure a solution with a lot of salt concentration, we will soak the electrode in clean water until it recovers and can be calibrated. We store the electrodes in the calibration buffer solution (either 4 or 7). Do not store the electrode in pure water as it will cause migration of the ionic solution from the electrode. It might be alright if you have a solid-state electrode; the manual should give the best storage conditions. I'm checking the pH today of the salami I made on Sunday.

@NCPaul - For some reason my notifications didn't work. I'm just seeing this now. I've not used the meter since first posting here, given I didn't want to damage it. I will go for 70% isopropyl alcohol. I've been making salami for most of my life... The way my father taught me, and his before... I don't think anything has changed for generations. I'm still very old school with what goes into the mix (especially how fresh my meat needs to be) ... but I figure it won't compromise my age old traditions by taking measurements. Thanks for your advice.