Seeking Colby advice

[FarmerJd]

I almost larded the last one, but I chickened out at the last minute for fear of the messiness. I guess the paper plate thing would work but would Styrofoam palates be better since the paper will absorb the grease? And do you buy your lard or is it home rendered?

By the way, the new format on the site is kind of hard to get used to. I like it but I am nostalgic. Where are the smileys?

[MrsKK]

I use home rendered lard because I always have a good supply of it.  In fact, that's why I got into soapmaking originally.

Because the lard soaks into the paper plates a bit, the cheese doesn't slide around on the plate, as I imagine it would with a styrofoam plate.

[MrsKK]

I just tried the second batch of colby again - Wow!  Just under two months old, it has really good flavor.  I sent a big chunk of it to South Carolina in a care package to my son and his family for Christmas.

I really think this is the cheese I want to be making.  It has good flavor, is moist yet not wet, and has a good firmness to it.  I brought some into work with me last night and had a midnight snack of cheese and crackers.

I also brought in some cheese from another experiment I tried.  It is a pressed cheese that starts out just like a cultured (yogurt) mozzerella.  Rinse the curds in cool water, then pressed at gradually increasing weights, ending up with 120 lbs for 12 hours.  It is a moist, slightly crumbly cheese with a lot of flavor.

[DeejayDebi]

Congrats on the colby  Karen!  Have you posted this other experimental cheese somewhere? It sounds interesting but I am not recalling the process. Could just be one of my brain farts ...

[Boofer]

Good show with the Colby, Karen. What recipe did you follow for it? I'm specifically interested in your ripening time.

-Boofer-

[MrsKK]

Debi and Boofer, I'll have to bring my log book up from the milk room and post specifics for you.

[DeejayDebi]

That would be greatly approeciated Karen. Alway nice to learn to tricks.