It was a special day today - my anniversary - so I opened my bandaged Colby to go along with our dinner.  The pix below will show what we got.  It is just over 2 months old and the bandage was totally covered in mold, which was removed along with the bandage.  When I cut it open I was greeted with a delightful sight.  It looked great.  I let it set for about 1/2 hour before eating any, as I’ve been told its best to do so.  The taste was terrific.  It was very moist - perhaps a wee bit too moist.  The curd was cooled to 80 degrees and I may adjust that to 85 next time for a slightly drier cheese.  I’ve got one in the kitchen in the final press, and it was done to 80 also; but this one was pressed with heavier weight.  So it will be interesting to see the difference.  Although this new one will be waxed, not bandaged.  Any way, if any of you are considering trying the bandaging technique I will heartily recommend it.  It was a bit more time ocnsuming; but it was fun to do and the result was quite satisfactory.

Rich, this cheese looks great!
I am really considering giving the bandaging a try.
Do you use actual lard, or would a Crisco type product work just as well?
In my opinion the mold is absolutely beautiful.
Great work and thanks for this post.

Dave

Darn, I forgot to add:
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
How many years?

Wow !! that looks fantastic, very nicely done happy Anniversary,

that looks much better than mine did when i opened it maybe a shorter maturing time is the whey to go 12 months is definately whey too long lol

To answer a few questions:  first of all just the 4th anniversary on the 2nd marriage.  Second, no I didn’t use lard.  I couldn’t bring myself to smear pig fat on my cheese.  I used vegetable shortening.  And Narelle, I noticed that the shortening was beginning to dry and cake a bit toward the end of the aging time.  Perhaps for a longer age, one should just add a bit more shortening every couple months.  Might be messy with the mold and all; but it should keep your cheese more moist.

And Dave - nice logo pic.

Green Cheese Maker - 15 February 2009 12:01 PM

To answer a few questions:  first of all just the 4th anniversary on the 2nd marriage.  Second, no I didn’t use lard.  I couldn’t bring myself to smear pig fat on my cheese.  I used vegetable shortening.

Nice cheese.
I would like to point out, Lard is/has been beef fat way back into prehistory, pig fat is Pork dripping a different substance with a lower melting point. Pork dripping will also ‘turn’ far quicker than Lard which has a much longer shelf life
So Lard is still the better choice of the two, even butter could be used. A problem with butter, it will ‘turn’ going rancid and possibly alter the cheese taste.
Crisco is a condensed/hardened vegetable oil which would have a different chemical make up, similar effect to using to Olive oil.

Don’t take this as being contrary; but I live in Arkansas, and as any self respecting Hillbilly will tell you:  Lard is rendered pig fat.  Beef tallow is referred to around here as suet.

Newbie….
I have to agree with Rich on this one…
My parents used to always get these huge buckets of lard each time they had a pig butchered.
I grew up with nearly EVERYTHING cooked in lard. Now I hardly eat anything that is fried.
Hmmm…
I sort of miss those days because everything TASTED GREAT!

Dave

Deep fried CHEESEeeeeeeeeee !

Green Cheese Maker - 15 February 2009 09:01 PM

Don’t take this as being contrary; but I live in Arkansas, and as any self respecting Hillbilly will tell you:  Lard is rendered pig fat.  Beef tallow is referred to around here as suet.

So it all depends on where you live, as to what you’ll call it?
Suet is a hard fat from around the kidneys of the animal, before any rendering is done on it. Nothing like lard which when heated becomes a liquid.

From Wiki  
Dripping, also known as beef or pork dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses. It is similar to lard and tallow.

It is used for cooking, especially in British cuisine, significantly so in Northern England, though towards the end of the 20th century dripping had fallen out of favour due to it being regarded as less healthy than vegetable oils such as olive or sunflower.

So I would suggest we call it a day, if you think lard comes primarily from pigs, so be it.
I will still use it if I decide to bandage.

i could not understand each one’s idea

Tallow or white hard fat tissue (pig, beef, sheep .... etc) , is heated up until liquefied (or boiled until melted) then we took the liquid off the heat and discard the rest (or cool the boiled water and take off the hardened lard on surface)

and this is a lard , no matter the source animal is

am i talking correct?

To take this thread in a different direction, I have a serving suggestion:  tonight for supper I had an omelet covered with melted Colby cheese, and lavished with salsa.  Mmmmmm.

Rich,

  do you dry the cheese before putting on the bandage? Liek you would with wax? or do you whack it on straight out of the press?
Ricki Carrol says not to dry it ... “instead of air drying, try bandaging ...”
do you concur?

BTW - according to wikipedia
“Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. “

sam

I would let it dry mostly at least, so that u know that it has released any trapped whey etc.

no it should be bandaged out of the press (directly) no air drying at all