Colby cheese

Colby is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the United States, with a Hazel-nutty flavor and an orange color. It is often found blended with Monterey Jack cheese. It was first invented in 1885 in its namesake city of Colby, Wisconsin.

Colby
Other namesLonghorn, Colby Cheddar
Country of originUnited States
Region, townColby, Wisconsin
Source of milkCows
PasteurisedYes
TextureSemi-hard
Aging timeNone
Named afterColby
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

History
Original factory southwest of the city of Colby (2012)
A marker in Colby, Wisconsin, notes the town's relationship to the cheese.

In 1882, dairy farmers Ambrose and Susan Steinwand established a small cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin, on a site they had purchased five years before. Their son Joseph developed a new type of cheese at the factory in 1885 when he was handling a batch of cheddar cheese and washed the curd with cold water.[1] The resulting cheese, which was moister than cheddar, was named after the city of Colby and quickly became popular.[2] By 1896, the family was producing $3000 of cheese each year,[3] and in 1898, the Colby Phonograph reported that "a merchant in Phillips gives as one of the 13 reasons why people should trade with him, that he sells the genuine Steinwand Colby Cheese."[4] The original factory building was torn down in 2015.[5]

There have been several proposals to make Colby the official state cheese of Wisconsin. In 1998, the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 81–15 in support of the measure after the city of Colby approved a supporting resolution, but it was not voted on by the Senate. A similar measure was introduced in 2019 but did not receive a vote in either the Assembly or the Senate. Representative Donna Rozar and Senator Kathy Bernier introduced the bill again in 2021 with the support of Joseph Steinwand's great-granddaughter. Supporters of the bill said that it commemorates Wisconsin's dairy history, while critics argued that it could undermine producers of other cheeses in the state.[6]

Properties

Colby cheese is similar to cheddar cheese but does not undergo the cheddaring process.[7] Considered a semi-hard cheese, Colby is softer, moister, and milder than cheddar because it is produced through a washed-curd process:[8] the whey is replaced with water during the cooking time, reducing the curd's acidity and resulting in Colby's characteristically mild flavor.[9] As with most other cheeses, it takes more than one U.S. gallon of milk to produce a single pound of cheese (over eight liters of milk per kilogram of cheese).

Monterey Jack cheese is produced almost identically to Colby, but Colby is seasoned with annatto, which imparts a sweet nutty flavor and an orange color.[7]

Longhorn is a style of American Colby cheeses.[10] "Longhorn" refers to the long orange cylindrical shape of the cheese. Colby is available in its original shape and in rectangles and half rounds.[11] Colby is not aged and dries out quickly.[10]

Uses

Because it is such a mildly flavored cheese, Colby is seldom used in cooking. It is typically used as a table cheese, for grating and grilling, and in snacks and salads.

Derivatives

Colby is sometimes mixed with Monterey Jack to produce a marbled cheese called Colby-Jack or Co-Jack.[12] Pinconning cheese is a sharp aged relative of Colby.

In 2015, artist John Riepenhoff and cheesemaker Bob Wills created a "Double Cream" Colby.[13]

References
  1. Apps, Jerry (2015). Wisconsin Agriculture: A History. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. pp. 241–242. ISBN 978-0-87020-724-2.
  2. Stern, Gerd (2007). "Cheese: Historical Overview". In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-19-988576-3.
  3. Jensen, Joan M. (2006). Calling This Place Home: Women on the Wisconsin Frontier, 1850–1925. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-87351-563-4.
  4. Uhlig, Keith (5 April 2021). "Colby, 'basically the ultimate cheese,' should be Wisconsin's official cheese". Marshfield News-Herald. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. O'Brien, Kevin (13 April 2021). "New bill seeks to make Colby the state cheese". Tribune-Phonograph. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  6. Karnopp, Hope (7 July 2021). "A bill to make Colby the official state cheese is getting another chance at becoming a law". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  7. Frank Kosikowski; Vikram V Mistry. Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods. 3rd ed, Westport, Conn.: Author, 1997.
  8. Colby cheese at Wisconsin FFA
  9. Hintz, Martin (2008). Wisconsin cheese : a cookbook and guide to the cheeses of Wisconsin. Pam Percy. Guilford, Conn.: ThreeForks. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7627-5196-9. OCLC 853623671.
  10. Colby cheese at truestarhealth.com Archived 1 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Ehler, James T. "Longhorn Cheese : Food Facts & Trivia". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  12. Wisconsin Cheese: Colby-Monterey Jack Archived 26 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
  13. "Twelfth Annual Nohl Fellowship Exhibition Opens at INOVA, October 9". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
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