Colby cheese

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

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
Named after	Colby
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

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] Colby-style[3] cheese is now widely available, and some of it is still produced in Colby.

A festival commemorating the cheese is held every year in mid-July, where all local food booths offer free Colby cheese.

Properties

Colby cheese is similar to cheddar cheese but does not undergo the cheddaring process.[4] Considered a semi-hard cheese, Colby is softer, moister, and milder than cheddar because it is produced through a washed-curd process:[5] the whey is replaced with water during the cooking time, reducing the curd's acidity and resulting in Colby's characteristically mild flavor. As with most other cheeses, it takes more than one U.S. gallon of milk to produce a single pound of cheese (over eight liters of milk per kilogram of cheese).

Monterey Jack cheese is produced almost identically to Colby, but Colby is seasoned with annatto, which imparts a sweet nutty flavor and an orange color.[4]

Longhorn is a style of American Colby cheeses.[6] "Longhorn" refers to the long orange cylindrical shape of the cheese. Colby is available in its original shape and in rectangles and half rounds.[7] Colby is not aged and dries out quickly.[6]

Uses

Because it is such a mildly flavored 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.[8] Pinconning cheese is a sharp aged relative of Colby.

In 2015, artist John Riepenhoff and cheesemaker Bob Wills created a "Double Cream" Colby.[9]

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. "Tillamook creamery in Oregon makes Colby and Colby-Jack cheese".
4. Frank Kosikowski; Vikram V Mistry. Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods. 3rd ed, Westport, Conn.: Author, 1997.
5. Colby cheese at Wisconsin FFA
6. Colby cheese at truestarhealth.com Archived 2007-01-01 at the Wayback Machine
7. Ehler, James T. "Longhorn Cheese : Food Facts & Trivia". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
8. Wisconsin Cheese: Colby-Monterey Jack Archived 2018-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
9. "Twelfth Annual Nohl Fellowship Exhibition Opens at INOVA, October 9". Retrieved 2 February 2017.

External links

• Nutrition facts for Land O'Lakes Colby cheese.