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Cheese from United States

Colby

Cow milk is soured with lactic bacteria and set with rennet, and the curd is cut, stirred and heated. Part of the whey is drained and cold water is added while stirring, which washes out milk sugar and keeps the curd from matting. The curd is then drained, salted and pressed into forms.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsUS standard of identity (21 CFR 133.118)Family: Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe US standard fixes the steps and the composition, not the amounts.
Cow milkMay be pasteurised, clarified or warmed; its fat may be adjusted[cfr-colby]
Lactic acid bacteriaPresent in the milk or added[cfr-colby]
RennetOr another milk-clotting enzyme; calcium chloride up to 0.02 % of the milk weight[cfr-colby]
Cold waterAdded to the curd to cool and wash it; 10 °C in one study[cfr-colby][lee2011]
Salt[cfr-colby]
ColouringoptionalHarmless colouring may be added[cfr-colby]
Starterlactic acid bacteria present in the milk or added

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Lactic bacteria and rennet go into the milk and it sets

Step 1 of 5
Sour the milk and set it with rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: coagulum.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
soft gel
Colour
white, or tinted yellow to orange if colouring is added

Microbes at work in this step

lactic acid bacteria sour the milk; rennet sets it

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Cow milk is soured with lactic bacteria and set with rennet, and the curd is cut, stirred and heated. Part of the whey is drained and cold water is added while stirring, which washes out milk sugar and keeps the curd from matting. The curd is then drained, salted and pressed into forms. Made in 5 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen cold, takes at least 2 months (US Code of Federal Regulations) and runs at at least 1.7 °C (US Code of Federal Regulations).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[cfr-colby]Ripen cold
Temperatureat least 1.7 °CSet[cfr-colby]Ripen cold
AciditypH 5.1 → 5.4Measured[lee2011]Ripen cold

What makes this one different

Colby curd is not cheddared into slabs. Part of the whey is replaced with cold water while the curd is stirred, which washes out lactose and keeps the pieces apart. With less lactose left, less lactic acid forms during ripening.

Milk
Cow milk, pasteurised or raw; raw-milk cheese is cured at least 60 days
Composition
US standard: no more than 40 % moisture; at least 50 % milkfat in the solids
Ripening
US standard: at least 60 days at no less than 35 °F if the milk is not pasteurised

Related ferments

Variants

  • Colby-JackColby marbled with Monterey Jack (Wikipedia, Monterey Jack).

Safety

Colby made from raw milk must be cured at not less than 35 °F for not less than 60 days under the US standard. That rule does not by itself make the cheese safe. In a challenge test, raw milk was deliberately contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 at about 20 CFU/ml and made into Gouda and stirred-curd Cheddar. Counts fell below 5 CFU/g after about 94 to 108 days, but it stayed detectable by enrichment past 270 days. In a challenge test on Colby made from pasteurised milk, Listeria monocytogenes did not grow in the vat but was trapped in the curd, and its numbers fell only slowly over 140 days at 4 °C, more slowly in moister cheese.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes; in a challenge test it was trapped in the curd and declined slowly during 140 days at 4 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

According to the Colby, Wisconsin historical marker, Joseph F. Steinwand developed Colby in 1885 at his father's cheese factory, built in 1882 in Colby township in Clark County, Wisconsin, and named it for the township. An 1898 issue of the Colby Phonograph noted that a merchant in Phillips sold genuine Steinwand Colby cheese. The US standard of identity for Colby was issued in 1977.

  1. [cfr-colby] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.118 Colby cheese (standard of identity)spec
  2. [lee2011] Lee M.R., Johnson M.E., Govindasamy-Lucey S., Jaeggi J.J., Lucey J.A. 2011, Effect of different curd-washing methods on the insoluble Ca content and rheological properties of Colby cheese during ripening, Journal of Dairy Science 94:2692–2700, doi:10.3168/jds.2010-3753paper
  3. [lee2010] Lee M.R., Johnson M.E., Govindasamy-Lucey S., Jaeggi J.J., Lucey J.A. 2010, Insoluble calcium content and rheological properties of Colby cheese during ripening, Journal of Dairy Science 93:1844–1853, doi:10.3168/jds.2009-2734paper
  4. [yousef1988] Yousef A.E., Marth E.H. 1988, Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes during the manufacture and storage of Colby cheese, Journal of Food Protection 51:12–15, doi:10.4315/0362-028X-51.1.12paper
  5. [cdc-colby] Canadian Dairy Commission, Monterey Jack and Colby (cheese technology page)gov
  6. [clark-colby] Clark County History Buffs, The Home of Colby Cheese (text of the Colby, Wisconsin historical marker, from the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Our Story, 1976)archive
  7. [wp-jack] Wikipedia, Monterey Jack (supports only the Colby-Jack variant)wiki
  8. [damico2010] D'Amico D.J., Druart M.J., Donnelly C.W. 2010, Behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the manufacture and aging of Gouda and stirred-curd Cheddar cheeses manufactured from raw milk, Journal of Food Protection 73(12):2217–2224 (abstract)paper