Colby

My next cheese will be Colby. This will be my second cheese since resuming the hobby last week. Even though I expect that Colby will be similar to the Farmhouse Cheddar I just made, I chose it because it is another cheese that seems fairly easy to make. I need to practice with easy cheeses before I tackle something more difficult. Also, Colby ages quickly in only 4 to 6 weeks, which means I can have nearly instant gratification, in cheese aging terms.

I plan to follow the recipe and process on cheesemaking.com, here: http://www.cheesemaking.com/Colby.html#Anchor-Only-49575

I just ordered some new molds and cultures and sundry other supplies, so it'll be some time next week before I get to do this.

Have any of you other intrepid cheesemakers tried making a Colby yet? If so, I'd welcome pointers. I will, of course, document my experience in this thread as I go. And if this goes well, Gouda may follow.

I haven't but been wanting to. You need to try the montery jack that is another fairly simple cheese to make.

I will be following this thread so thanks in advance in creating it.

Julie, that's a great idea for my third cheese. Monterrey Jack would be another good experience builder. Habanero Pepper Jack, now that sounds great.

I made my first Colby last night. I used the Colby recipe from Ricki Carroll's site, with one minor change. The recipe calls for a half packet of C101 culture. I didn't have that, but I had MA-011 and MM-100 mesophilic cultures. The MA-011 is most similar to C101 (I think it is the same), but it comes in bulk form. MM-100 has the same two primary cultures as MA-011, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (LL) and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris (LLC), but it adds Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis (LLD). The LLD is supposed to result in a slightly more open texture and tiny holes, and should enhance the buttery flavor.

Aside from the culture substitution, I followed the recipe on Ricki's site pretty much to a T. I used two gallons of the low-temperature vat pasteurized non-homogenized Jersey cow milk. I found a source that will deliver from a local farm to drop off points around town. The cost is $7 a gallon plus a nominal delivery fee, so about double the cost of regular grocery store milk. It is worth the price, as it is so much richer and tastier than any other milk I've encountered.

I used the same form that I used for my Farmhouse Cheddar, and the resulting cheese right out of the press looks pretty much the same. I wanted to use a smaller diameter form so I'd have a long cylinder of cheese, the way some Longhorn Colby is packaged. But my smaller diameter mold wouldn't fit all the curds from two gallons of milk.

The cheese weighed 2 lb 2 oz right out of the press. I'll weigh it again when it is ready to wax.

Here is the colby after brining and drying, ready to be waxed. Notice how the straight cylindrical format produced by the mold has turned into a more typical bulged cylinder. I guess the slight bowing of the outer perimeter (sides) is simply due to gravity.

The cheese was brined in a saturated brine for 10 hours. Cheese floats in a saturated brine, so I sprinkled a teaspoon of salt on the top, then flipped the cheese halfway through and sprinkled salt again.

I used so-called yellow wax for this cheese. It has a yellowish look, but the yellow coloring, if any, is very subtle. It could just be the natural wax color. I think the color of the cheese comes through a little and makes it look more yellow than it really is.

Would you guys cut it out! LOL This stuff looks so good it is tempting another hobby!

I wonder how hard it would be to get the ingredients for and to make havarti cheese? It is one of our favorites.

robie said:

I wonder how hard it would be to get the ingredients for and to make havarti cheese? It is one of our favorites.

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I have all the ingredients and here are some instructions from e How:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4425268_make-havarti-cheese.html

Good luck

Brew and Wine Supply said:

I have all the ingredients and here are some instructions from e How:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4425268_make-havarti-cheese.html

Good luck

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Thanks for the instructions site.

I am so-o-o-o tempted.

Also, there is a recipe for Haverti in 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes by Debra Amrein-Boyes. I have the book, and the recipes are well-written and easy to follow. Haverti is on my list to try, probably after Gouda.

Runningwolf said:

Would you guys cut it out! LOL This stuff looks so good it is tempting another hobby!

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It doesn't take much to entice me into starting a new hobby. I just bought a second cheese press (a dutch style press), a new recipe book, hundreds of dollars worth of cheese molds, wax, other equipment, and cultures, and a dedicated mini-refrigerator and a Ranco temperature controller to make it into a cheese cave.

My cheese cave should be delivered by the middle of next week. I've got two cheeses sitting in my refrigerator that need the cheese cave for proper aging. I have two more cheeses on the list to make over the next 4 to 6 days, and a growing list of future cheeses.

milbrosa said:

It doesn't take much to entice me into starting a new hobby. I just bought a second cheese press (a dutch style press), a new recipe book, hundreds of dollars worth of cheese molds, wax, other equipment, and cultures, and a dedicated mini-refrigerator and a Ranco temperature controller to make it into a cheese cave.

My cheese cave should be delivered by the middle of next week. I've got two cheeses sitting in my refrigerator that need the cheese cave for proper aging. I have two more cheeses on the list to make over the next 4 to 6 days, and a growing list of future cheeses.

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We need to talk my friend!!!

Cheese and wine, my two BIGGEST weaknesses........

Brew and Wine Supply said:

We need to talk my friend!!!

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uh oh, what did I do? :<

milbrosa said:

uh oh, what did I do? :<

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Nothing wrong, just think I may have saved you some

Ah, gotcha. Next time I need supplies or equipment, I'll check with you first. I may want some more molds eventually, and of course, the cultures and rennet and such as I consume what I have on hand.