My First Colby 12 Nov 2011

[OzzieCheese]

So today is my first attempt at a Colby.

Going to use the GLA(Green Living Australia) recipe today with the addition of saffron for colouring and the Floc Method for determining the curd cutting time with a Floc Multiplier of 3 – 3.5 testing at 3 and adjusting to 3.5.
Chilling the water as a start.  The Saffron and the Calcium Chloride will be added at the end of the ripening just before the rennet add.

8 Litres of store bought milk.
1/8 tsp of Calcium Chloride diluted in ¼ cup Water.
Dose of MO-030 Mesophilic
½ tsp of Mad Millies Liquid Rennet.
10-12 saffron threads in ¼ boiling water – cooled.
2 tabs of Cheese Salt.
The milk is the 3.6 fat content from Woolies.
11:20 heating milk  20C
11:35 26C
Found a nice temp converter http://www.digitaldutch.com/unitconverter/
Added Culture 11:45. Added the CaCl and the saffron at the 50 minute mark still @ 30OC.
Rennet diluted in ¼ cup of de-chlorinated water added at 12:47
The floc time was a bit off @ 16 minutes which gives a cut time @ 3X of 48 minutes. 
I think the late add of the CaCl caused this as last week I was 14 with the same rennet and milk.  The milk in both cases was as fresh in store as possible, but no guarantees there.
Check times are by the recipe @1:17 (30 minutes)
13:35 for 3x
13:43 for 3.5x

Time to check the Curds @ 1:17 - They won't be ready but thats Ok need to check anyway.
As suspect not ready - Nearly but not quite.

The floc Multiplier looks to be around 3x so I'll check in an other 15 minutes.

[OzzieCheese]

Nah needs to bee 3.5 still a bit squidgy...

[OzzieCheese]

Here is the rest . .  Photos to follow.
Cut @ 13:54  Rest for 5 minutes.
The stirring and cooking is a bit of a process.  Slowly raise the temp to 39C – 1 degree every 5 minutes taking 40 minutes.  Once there maintain and stir for another 30 minutes. 
The washing is a bit of a pain but make sure that the water you have is cold @ least 15C or you won’t get to the target temperature of 27C .   When there stir to prevent matting for 15 minutes.  As I like a dryer cheese I let the Temp stay @ 29C for 15 minutes.
For a moister cheese you will need to drop to 27C or a smidge below a firmer, drier cheese let it stay a little high.
Drain in a colander for 20 minutes.  When drained return to the pot and mill the curds and add the salt, making sure it is evenly mixed in.
This cheese needs a large press weight building from 20lbs to 50lbs.  So on my press it is
2kg @600 = 20lbs for 20 minutes (TS uses 30 minutes). Flip the cheese and redress and repress.
2kg @600 = 20lbs for 20 minutes (TS uses 30 minutes). Flip the cheese and redress and repress.
4kg @700 = 40lbs for 1 hour. Flip the cheese and redress and repress.
5kg @750 = 50lbs for 12 hours.  Will have to be overnight for me today.

Stay tuned for photos..

Well I hit all the T and P's so I hope this works out.  Please comment on any improvements I could make to this method.  Not that I want to be exact . . just consistent.

-- Mal

[boothrf]

Sounds like a good make today Mal, well done. 

I see you are using store bought milk. Have you considered using an unhomogenised milk? My reading suggests unhomogenised milk is better for cheesemaking, giving a firmer curd. I think Pauls make one, may be a bit more expensive as it is organic.

Love to see some photos, especially of your press?

[OzzieCheese]

Yo Bob.  Yep I agree that better milk would increase the yield and the overall quality of the product.  Though $4.95 a litre makes it a little harder to justify.  I really would like to find a source of raw milk but that is proving difficult.  Everyone I've spoken to are afraid to even broach the subject just in case I'm am inspector or from the 'Milk' police.  That said, I try and get the fattest milk I can but that is usually only 3.4 or 3.6 grams per 100 ml.

Here is a photo of my press doing the Colby.

[Melbourne Cheese]

Hi Mal,

I have to ask, where do you live or where do you get your milk from.  I am shocked at the cost of milk that you have to pay.   
Richard

[boothrf]

Yes, $4.95 a litre is crazy!  That sounds a lot for 1 litre? Pauls Organic unhomogenised is usually around $2.80 a litre, and thats top dollar. I'm lucky enough to get fresh raw milk from a local farmer for 50 cents a litre. Strictly speaking, they are not supposed to sell it as they have contracts with the big processors, but most are willing to sell a bit. I guess it's harder when you don't know them personally.

3.4% fat is the legal standard for whole cows milk sold to the public, so virtually all milk is 3.45 or lower. "Farmhouse" versions with extra cream will be the higher %. If you want higher % just add some UHT cream. Its pure cream, no additives and "clean". I have used it before to make higher fat cams and triple cream bries.

Nice looking press Mal, did you make it yourself?

[OzzieCheese]

Yep, the press is my make, not that there are too many variations on a dutch press. I've seen some others but were a bit out of my woodworking skills.  That is 5 litres hanging @ 750mm from the pivot giving me 50lbs - or there abouts - at the cheese.

I thought I'd misquoted the price so I went and checked again and it was correct an organic 4.1g fat /100ml 1 litre carton from woolies $4.95 (and it was still homoganised) was marked down to $2.45 for a quick sale but the batch date was 12 days ago.  Nah steering clear of that.  I need to find a local dairy or start adding cream back in.  Just cracked open a new cheese for lunch today - Pepper Jack -- OMG .

Here are a couple of image just after pressing - weighed in @ 994 gms from 8 litres of milk.

[OzzieCheese]

Sorry Richard,  I'm in Brisbane and are forced at the moment to get my milk from supermarket chains.  You never really know how old the milk is or what they have done to it.  I really need to find a better source..

-- Mal

[Melbourne Cheese]

Hi Mal, that is odd that you pay nearly double what we pay down south.  I get my Paul's stuff from Woolies for $2.85. 

So, Brisbane hey, i used to live there.  Coorparoo.  I do miss the joint a lot.

[boothrf]

Mal,

Supermarket milk is packed with 14 days shelf life. They won't accept it if it has less thab 9-10 days shelf life left. If you shop around supermarkets you should always find milk with 12 days left, and that is about as fresh as you will get. Obviously, the high selling varieties will always be the freshest and specialist milks, like organic or unhomogenised may well have much less life left. 

When milk is packed, it will usually be 1-2 days from when it was produced by the cow. It can take a couple of days to get picked up by the tanker, sent to the processor and then pasteurised, packed then delivered to the supermarket. Of course, it can sometimes take longer than that too.

Moral of the story, shop around to get the freshest milk you can buy.

[OzzieCheese]

Milk life - I try to shop for milk with a minimum of 12-13 best before the day I'm shopping for it.  Until I can find a better supply, this seems to work most of the time.

-- Mal

[OzzieCheese]

Colby update - This seems to be drying very nicely has lost approx 50 gms of moisture since Saturday and is firming up well.  I will probably wax this thursday.  I'll post images as they come to hand.
Doing another Manchego this weekend.

-- Mal