COLBY STRING CHEESE RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients until blended. Spoon cheese mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish.
• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Spoon into a serving bowl. Garnish, if desired. Serve with tortilla and sweet potato chips.

Steps:

• Begin by heating the milk to 86 degrees F.
• Add the starter culture, stir for about 1 minute to thoroughly incorporate the culture and allow the milk to ripen for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, check the temperature of the cheese and make sure it's still around 86 degrees. Add the diluted rennet and stir it into the cheese with an up and down motion for 1 minute. For raw farm fresh milk, continue to stir for a few more minutes.
• Cover the cheese and allow it to sit undisturbed for 30 minutes, until the cheese has a clean break.
• Cut the curd into 3/8-inch pieces, stir gently and then let the cut curds set for 5 minutes.
• Heat the curds to 102 degrees F by raising the temperature of the whey 2 degrees every 5 minutes. It's important to heat them slowly, and placing the pot in a sink full of hot water helps slowly and gently heat the curds.
• Once the curds & whey reaches 102 degrees, maintain that temperature for 30 minutes. Stir periodically to keep the curds from matting.
• Pour off most of the whey until it's down to the level of the curds. While stirring, add cool 60 degree F water until the water/whey is at 80 degrees F. Keep the temperature steady at 80 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. (This added water step is called "washing the curds" and helps determine the final moisture of the cheese. A warmer mixture means dryer cheese, and cooler means more moisture in the finished cheese.)
• Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth and allow them to drain for 20 minutes.
• Break the curds into small pieces and gently mix them with the cheese salt.
• Place the salted curds in a cheesecloth lined cheese press.
• Press at 20 pounds pressure for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cheese from the mold and peel off the cheesecloth. Re-dress the cheese, flip the cheese and place it back into the press at 30 pounds pressure for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cheese, re-dress and flip again, then press at 40 pounds for 1 hour.
• Repeat the re-dressing/flipping again, then press at 50 pounds for 12 hours.
• Remove the cheese from the press and remove the cheesecloth. Air dry the cheese for several days until it's dry to the touch on all sides. Flip the cheese regularly during this open drying. This should take 2-4 days depending on humidity.
• Wax the cheese and age for 60 to 90 days at 50 degrees F.