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Colby cheese
Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the U.S. city of Colby, Wisconsin, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular. Today the cheese is typically used in snacks, sandwiches, and salads.
Colby was developed by eliminating the cheddaring process used in making cheddar cheese, and instead partially draining the whey after the curd is cooked and adding cold water to decrease the mixture's temperature; the result is a moister and softer cheese. Traditional "washed-curd" Colby is pressed into a cylindrical form called a longhorn, and cures into an open texture with irregular holes.
Derivatives include Colby-Jack, a marble cheese produced by mixing Colby and Monterey Jack curds, and Pinconning cheese, a style of Colby that was developed in Michigan. The city of Colby considers the cheese an important part of its history, and organizes an annual festival to promote Colby cheese. Several proposals have been made in the Wisconsin state legislature to designate Colby the official state cheese.
In 1882, Ambrose and Susan Steinwand established a cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin, on a 160-acre (65 ha) site they had purchased five years before. The Steinwands' son Joseph developed the cheese at the factory in 1885 when he was handling a batch of cheddar cheese and washed the curd with cold water. Accounts differ on whether the creation was intentional. According to some sources, Joseph had attended a cheesemaking course and was specifically interested in developing a new type of cheese; according to others, he neglected to drain the excess moisture after adding cold water and accidentally discovered the result. The resulting cheese, which was moister than cheddar, was named after the nearby city and quickly became popular because it did not involve the complicated cheddaring process.
By 1896, the family was producing US$3000 worth of cheese each year. In 1898, the Colby Phonograph reported that "a merchant in Phillips gives as one of the 13 reasons why people should trade with him, that he sells the genuine Steinwand Colby Cheese." The city of Colby has organized an annual festival in July, "Colby Cheese Days", to promote the cheese since 1965. That same year, Lawrence Hoernke built a new Colby Cheese Factory on the site of the Steinwands' original factory; it produced about 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of Colby a day until it shut down in 1983.
Several proposals have been put forth to make Colby the official state cheese of Wisconsin and to add the designation to the Wisconsin Blue Book published by the state government. In 1998, the city of Colby adopted a resolution supporting the measure and the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 81–15 in support, but the bill was not voted on by the Senate. A similar measure was introduced in 2019, but did not receive a vote in either the Assembly or the Senate. In 2021, the bill was introduced again in an Assembly committee, with Joseph Steinwand's great-granddaughter speaking in support of the measure. Supporters of the bill said that it commemorates Wisconsin's dairy history, while critics argued that a special designation for Colby could undermine the sales of other cheeses, including cheddar and mozzarella, that are also produced in the state.
The manufacturing process for Colby is similar to that of cheddar cheese, except that the mixture does not go through the cheddaring process. Cow's milk that has been standardized to a protein–fat ratio of 0.96 undergoes pasteurization and is stored at 88 °F (31 °C) while the starter Lactococcus lactis (subspecies lactis and/or cremoris) is added. After an hour, 2.4 US fl oz (70 ml) of annatto, a coloring agent, and 6.4 US fl oz (190 ml) of diluted rennet are added per 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) of milk. The mixture is left to set for 15 to 30 minutes. The curd is then cut and cooked at 102 °F (39 °C) until the pH of the whey is about 6.2 to 6.3.
Next, instead of draining all of the whey and cheddaring the remaining curds, only about two-thirds of the whey is drained until the curds break the surface. Cold water is added until the temperature of the mixture is about 81 °F (27 °C); increasing this temperature slightly produces a cheese that is less moist. After washing with the cold water for 15 minutes, the mixture is fully drained and salt is added to the curd. The curd is placed into molds that press it at 10 to 20 psi (69 to 138 kPa) for 16 to 18 hours. It is then packaged and ripened for 2 to 3 months at 37 to 39 °F (3 to 4 °C). This process produces 22 to 24 lb (10 to 11 kg) of cheese per 220 lb (100 kg) of milk. Monterey Jack has a similar manufacturing process, with the difference of allowing the curd to sit after draining the whey until it reaches a pH of 5.3. Colby is traditionally pressed into a cylindrical form that is 13 in (33 cm) long with a diameter of 3.9 to 5.9 in (10 to 15 cm). In this form, it is also known as a "longhorn". The cheese can also be pressed into a rectangular form with smaller rectangles or half-moon shapes cut from it.
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Colby cheese
Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the U.S. city of Colby, Wisconsin, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular. Today the cheese is typically used in snacks, sandwiches, and salads.
Colby was developed by eliminating the cheddaring process used in making cheddar cheese, and instead partially draining the whey after the curd is cooked and adding cold water to decrease the mixture's temperature; the result is a moister and softer cheese. Traditional "washed-curd" Colby is pressed into a cylindrical form called a longhorn, and cures into an open texture with irregular holes.
Derivatives include Colby-Jack, a marble cheese produced by mixing Colby and Monterey Jack curds, and Pinconning cheese, a style of Colby that was developed in Michigan. The city of Colby considers the cheese an important part of its history, and organizes an annual festival to promote Colby cheese. Several proposals have been made in the Wisconsin state legislature to designate Colby the official state cheese.
In 1882, Ambrose and Susan Steinwand established a cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin, on a 160-acre (65 ha) site they had purchased five years before. The Steinwands' son Joseph developed the cheese at the factory in 1885 when he was handling a batch of cheddar cheese and washed the curd with cold water. Accounts differ on whether the creation was intentional. According to some sources, Joseph had attended a cheesemaking course and was specifically interested in developing a new type of cheese; according to others, he neglected to drain the excess moisture after adding cold water and accidentally discovered the result. The resulting cheese, which was moister than cheddar, was named after the nearby city and quickly became popular because it did not involve the complicated cheddaring process.
By 1896, the family was producing US$3000 worth of cheese each year. In 1898, the Colby Phonograph reported that "a merchant in Phillips gives as one of the 13 reasons why people should trade with him, that he sells the genuine Steinwand Colby Cheese." The city of Colby has organized an annual festival in July, "Colby Cheese Days", to promote the cheese since 1965. That same year, Lawrence Hoernke built a new Colby Cheese Factory on the site of the Steinwands' original factory; it produced about 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of Colby a day until it shut down in 1983.
Several proposals have been put forth to make Colby the official state cheese of Wisconsin and to add the designation to the Wisconsin Blue Book published by the state government. In 1998, the city of Colby adopted a resolution supporting the measure and the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 81–15 in support, but the bill was not voted on by the Senate. A similar measure was introduced in 2019, but did not receive a vote in either the Assembly or the Senate. In 2021, the bill was introduced again in an Assembly committee, with Joseph Steinwand's great-granddaughter speaking in support of the measure. Supporters of the bill said that it commemorates Wisconsin's dairy history, while critics argued that a special designation for Colby could undermine the sales of other cheeses, including cheddar and mozzarella, that are also produced in the state.
The manufacturing process for Colby is similar to that of cheddar cheese, except that the mixture does not go through the cheddaring process. Cow's milk that has been standardized to a protein–fat ratio of 0.96 undergoes pasteurization and is stored at 88 °F (31 °C) while the starter Lactococcus lactis (subspecies lactis and/or cremoris) is added. After an hour, 2.4 US fl oz (70 ml) of annatto, a coloring agent, and 6.4 US fl oz (190 ml) of diluted rennet are added per 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) of milk. The mixture is left to set for 15 to 30 minutes. The curd is then cut and cooked at 102 °F (39 °C) until the pH of the whey is about 6.2 to 6.3.
Next, instead of draining all of the whey and cheddaring the remaining curds, only about two-thirds of the whey is drained until the curds break the surface. Cold water is added until the temperature of the mixture is about 81 °F (27 °C); increasing this temperature slightly produces a cheese that is less moist. After washing with the cold water for 15 minutes, the mixture is fully drained and salt is added to the curd. The curd is placed into molds that press it at 10 to 20 psi (69 to 138 kPa) for 16 to 18 hours. It is then packaged and ripened for 2 to 3 months at 37 to 39 °F (3 to 4 °C). This process produces 22 to 24 lb (10 to 11 kg) of cheese per 220 lb (100 kg) of milk. Monterey Jack has a similar manufacturing process, with the difference of allowing the curd to sit after draining the whey until it reaches a pH of 5.3. Colby is traditionally pressed into a cylindrical form that is 13 in (33 cm) long with a diameter of 3.9 to 5.9 in (10 to 15 cm). In this form, it is also known as a "longhorn". The cheese can also be pressed into a rectangular form with smaller rectangles or half-moon shapes cut from it.