Author Topic: Colby: First make  (Read 7281 times)

Offline H-K-J

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Southern Oregon
  • Posts: 1,776
  • Cheeses: 145
  • Act as if it were impossible to fail.
    • Cookin with uh dash dogs hair
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #15 on: November 28, 2012, 07:31:16 PM »
Still BB it is a fine looking cheese ^-^ myabe a little air will help
Never hit a man with glasses, use a baseball bat!
http://cocker-spanial-hair-in-my-food.blogspot.com/

michele

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #16 on: December 11, 2012, 07:43:53 PM »
Mine came out quite like yours! Mine was moist and had a "bite" like a cheddar. Not an off taste at all... but I then cut it into 4 wedges and vacuum sealed it - placing it in the freezer to give as holiday gifts. Do you think the freezer will stop any whey from turning bad (I ask this because I could see it was moist)

Michele

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2012, 08:07:37 PM »
I don't know....I have never frozen cheese before...It should prevent it from "aging" further but I just have no idea what the effects from freezing would be.

I am going to try this make again, but will use either a kazu or mm100 culture. I didn't have a lot of luck with that first meso culture (c101).  I may have also used too much pressure when pressing, so I will adjust that as well.

michele

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2012, 04:38:10 AM »
I just made a new batch and it is looking pretty good at this point. It is in it's final overnight pressing now. I did a few things differently than the first time. I cooked the curds a full 30 minutes at the 102 temp to make them drier, I also rinsed them rather than just draining after I brought the temp down. (not a full rinse but I did pour clear water once over the curds while in the strainer). I had forgotten to add the coloring this time so I am getting a white colby haha...
The first time I made a much larger wheel that was under 2 inches thick. So while I soaked it in the brine, I only did so for a few hours, not the full 8 as the recipe stated. This time I made it in the "proper" sized mold and it will brine for the full time.
I am hoping these things will change the taste some. I still liked the flavor of the first one but felt it ought to be sweeter rather than so much like a cheddar in flavor.
Do you think these changes will effect the outcome much?

Thanks!

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2012, 01:41:23 PM »
It sounds like it should. A colby should be sweeter, so to speak, and the changes you implemented will hopefully produce a sweeter cheese for you. Good luck!  I think I will try my 2nd make in a couple of weeks, more than likely...
My main change will be less pressure when pressing. I had a really good feel for the make as it went the last time and I think I over pressed/ over dried/ over acidified.

michele

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #20 on: December 12, 2012, 05:13:12 PM »
My new press has a spring and it was really hard to accurately gauge the pressure even with the chart. I am brining the new cheese and saw that after 4 hours it has just a couple of small cracks. Is this from being too dry (curds) or pressed to hard?
 

tnbquilt

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #21 on: December 12, 2012, 05:25:42 PM »
Thanks for that sheet on pressing Boofer. I will try it with my next cheddar. I think I will also put the mold in the pot with warm whey in the bottom while pressing like I saw you do on one of your other posts. I will elevate the cheese up out of the whey, but put warm whey in it and wrap a towel around it to try and keep it warm while pressing. I'm tire of cheese that looks like pebble stuck together.

michele

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make (help!)
« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2012, 02:26:02 AM »
I would LOVE to read that pressure info!!

I am doing all I can to heal the one opening in my rind. The rind is not uniform yet - I increased the moisture (humidity) by covering it with a large canister while it sits on a papertowel that is laid on a rack. So some spots are just a bit softer, one of which is where the crack is. SO I have tried rubbing it firmly with a clean papertowel. It heals and then opens back up in a short time.
Is it too late to fix this?
I do not have PH testing strips or equipment, and used a saturated salt brine with a little clear whey in it and about a tablespoon of vinegar (per New England Cheese site)
Should I soak it again?
Should I be rubbing it with vinegar and brine?
Should I cut my losses and just vacuum pack it??

It is the same recipe at the beginning of this thread... Colby

Thank you SO much!!

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: Colby: First make
« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2012, 12:58:58 PM »
I would just vacuum bag it....no need to brine it again, it will be too salty then.