Colby cheese

Colby
Other names Longhorn, Colby Cheddar
Country of origin United States
Region, town Colby, Wisconsin
Source of milk Cows
Texture Semi-hard
Aging time None
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

Colby, originally Colby Cheddar, is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese originating from the United States.

History

Original factory southwest of the city of Colby (2012)
A marker in Colby, Wisconsin, notes the town's relationship to the cheese.

In 1885, Joseph F. Steinwand developed a new type of cheese at his father's cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin. The cheese was named after the village,[1] which had been founded three years earlier.[2] While Colby cheese is still widely available, it is no longer produced in Colby.

An 1898 issue of the Colby Phonograph noted, "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."

A festival commemorating the cheese is held every year in mid-July, where all local food booths offer free Colby cheese. On August 12, 2015, the original cheese factory was torn down, leaving only the foundations of the building.

Properties

Colby cheese is similar to Cheddar cheese, but does not undergo the cheddaring process.[3] Considered a semi-hard cheese, Colby is softer, moister, and milder than cheddar because it is produced through a washed-curd process.[4] During this process, the whey is replaced with water during the cooking time, reducing the curd's acidity, and resulting in Colby's characteristically mild flavour. As with most other cheeses, it takes more than a U.S. gallon of milk to produce one pound of cheese (in metric, just over 8 litres of milk for a kilogram of cheese). Monterey Jack cheese is produced almost identically to Colby, but Colby is seasoned with annatto which gives it a sweet nutty flavour and its orange colour.[3]

Longhorn is the best known style of American Colby cheeses.[5] "Longhorn" refers to the long orange cylindrical shape of the cheese. Colby is available in its original shape and in rectangles and half rounds.[6] Colby is not aged and dries out quickly.[5]

Uses

Because it is such a mildly flavoured cheese, Colby is seldom used in cooking. It is typically used as a table cheese, for grating and grilling, and in snacks and salads.

Derivatives

Colby is sometimes mixed with Monterey Jack to produce a marbled cheese called Colby-Jack or Co-Jack.[7] Pinconning cheese is a sharp aged relative of Colby.

In 2015, artist John Riepenhoff and cheesemaker Bob Wills created a "Double Cream" Colby.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Dairy Good: Home". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. ↑ History: The Home of Colby Cheese Archived 2007-03-22 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 Frank Kosikowski; Vikram V Mistry. Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods. 3rd ed, Westport, Conn.: Author, 1997.
  4. ↑ Colby cheese at Wisconsin FFA
  5. 1 2 Colby cheese at truestarhealth.com Archived 2007-01-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Ehler, James T. "Longhorn Cheese : Food Facts & Trivia". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Wisconsin Cheese: Colby-Monterey Jack. Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
  8. ↑ "Twelfth Annual Nohl Fellowship Exhibition Opens at INOVA, October 9". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
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