I pulled out my fourth Colby recently and thought I'd report on the project. Past history recap: Colby #1 was a bit dry and overly-acidic (but still quite edible); #2 was absolutely Perfect; #3 was way too wet ("Velveeta"). With #4, I cooked the curds more, and also documented pH readings for the first time with the Colbys. Drained curd was at 5.8; after 6 hours of pressing I released it at 5.3. Air dried for about a week; waxed and aged for another 5 weeks.
New experiences: after cooking the curds more, they definitely were smaller and springier than with previous batches; but what was really different was when washing the curds, they absorbed way more water. They swelled up like little balloons, and when packing them into the mold, the moisture being released was not the usual whey, but water! However, out of the press the cheese seemed drier than other batches. So I was surprised when I opened it up that the center of the cheese was a bit moister than ideal. Once opened up and put in the frig for a few days, however, the texture reverted to near-ideal. The only fault on this one is it has a very faint chalky after-note, which according to Caldwell's book is likely due to incorrect pH targets at some point in the make. The fun thing about this cheese is that it was made with full-fat Jersey milk, and the flavor and melting qualities are fabulous! I haven't yet figured out how to replicate Perfect Colby #2, but I'm still having fun on the journey.
Looks great! AC4U!
Well done! Another C4U.