When I was a kid, we would go to the little general store in town and there on the counter, above the meat cooler, was a huge wheel of cheese. It was coated in thick red wax and the cheese itself was an other-worldy atomic orange. The butcher would chop off a huge wedge with the wooden guillotine, wrap it in white butcher paper and off we'd go for a sleeve of saltines and "Rat Trap Cheese." It was sweet and salty and elastic. Like a cross between cheese a[/size]nd polyester. It was divine![/font]
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I've found that it wasn't a Texas phenomenon. All through the South and Midwest there are similar stories. Usually called "Rat Trap Cheese," some folks referred to it as "Hoop Cheese."[/font]
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It just doesn't exist anymore. I've searched and searched and discovered why. It was ORIGINAL Colby. Not the stuff they make now that is like a young cheddar. Wisconsin changed the laws regarding what constituted Colby in the 60's and by the 70's "Colby" was mass produced using different methods.[/font]
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I'm on a quest in my cheesemaking kitchen to try to reproduce that nostalgic cheese of my childhood.[/font]
[/color][/size]Does anyone else know what I'm talking about AND do you have a recipe?[/font]
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