My first attempt at Colby has yielded an acidic, bitter cheese with too much moisture. I was confident after waxing the cheese that it was going to turn out great. My rennet was less than 6 months old but the starter I used is approaching 1 year. The rennet is kept refrigerated and the starter stays in the freezer when not in use. I didn’t take any PH reading since I had a new probe in order at the time and the old one is shot. I’m confident that procedurally everything was on the mark. The only thing I can think of is that the starter is going bad. The excess moisture probably didn’t help matters any…..

i have no experience with Colby

but it is not easy to do , as the washing temp is so critical, being too much moisture left will make bitter taste also,

did u let it dry for three weeks in fridge before waxing it?

Some info I’ve gathered from the net:

Cheese tastes very bitter—> Poor hygiene in handling the milk and/or cheesemaking utensils, Excessive rennet may have been used, Excessive acidity may be developing during the cheesemaking process,  Too little salt may have been added to the curd after milling.
Excessive acidity in cheesemaking—> Milk which has been improperly stored prior to cheesemaking or pasteurization.
Excessive acidity in cheesemaking—> Too much starter is being added. Ripening period is too long. Excessive moisture present in cheese.
Excessive moisture in cheese—> Inadequate acid development during cheesemaking. Using milk which has too high a fat content. May be caused by heating the curds too rapidly. Too fast an increase in cooking temperature develops a membrane around the curd particles which does not allow the moisture to leave the curd particles. May be caused by the retention of too much whey in the curd. May be caused by heating the curd to too low a temperature during cooking.

I let it dry for closer to 1 week. I wonder if I read the recipe wrong or something. I don’t recall it calling for it to dry it that long.

I have used culture thats over a year and a flaf, still am and no probs, as long as it frozen should last for years.

I’ve had the same problem with a couple Colby’s.  If you want a drier cheese, don’t wash the curd to such a cool temp.  Try 5 degrees warmer than you did previously.  The last Colby I opened was greeted by rave reviews and the next one is still a few weeks away from being mature.  Don’t give up on it - its a great cheese when you get it right.  Oh, and you don’t need to dry it for weeks - just until the rind is dry to the touch.

Thanks guys. I’ll probably take another stab at Colby later in the year. My wife’s been wanting me to do another batch of gouda so that sounds like my next cheese. I’ve had a lot of success with gouda so I’m looking forward to it….

I’ve had one really good gouda, and the rest have been incredibly sharp.  Has that happened to you also?

My Goudas tend to be more on the mellow side as opposed to sharp. If anything mine could stand to be a bit sharper. I only age mine 90 days since that’s all the longer it stays around. I’d really love to age one 6 months or more.

If you would like your Gauda sharper, don’t wash the curds, just cook to the desired temperature.

Alex - 27 May 2009 07:59 AM

If you would like your Gauda sharper, don’t wash the curds, just cook to the desired temperature.

this is a cheddar man

Didn’t mean to make cheddar, just heat to the Gauda’s temp instead of reaching this temp by pouring whey off and adding hot water.

So, if I want my really sharp Gouda to be more mellow, should I wash it twice?

NO for Alex and No for Rich

washing curds will draw off lactose from curds, so it will not be sour and the cheese will be crumbly and dry..
raising temp by water (wash) is totally different than raising temp by heat
the idea is to END UP WITH PROPER ACID IN FINAL CURD AFTER PRESSING

so by cheddaring u forced the lactose to be drained out
by swiss u force by high heat cooking
in gouda, by washing it out

Lactose is sugar , and bacteria (culture) feeds on it and make it lactic acid

if you want dryer Gouda to be aged from year and more :

1- raise the temp (slowly) by adding hot water to 39C instead of 36C by removing only 20-30% of the whey with 65C hot water
2- stir more half hour in the (whey+water) at 39C
4- press under water
3- do not wax the cheese, but instead wiping it with brine for few weeks until very good rind form, then brush it every week or so by a brush with very little brine..
4- ur cheese should be big enough so the half inch rind want use it up
5- of course ur cave should be humid (90%)

Green Cheese Maker - 27 May 2009 08:28 PM

So, if I want my really sharp Gouda to be more mellow, should I wash it twice?

if u do that (over work) u will end up with very high pH and the cheese will not age or last if the final day one pH is higher than 5.6

the rule is to either :

1- take off 30% and add 20-25 % hot water (professional industrial method)
or
2- cook the curds until it reach 39C by heat , and after it cooks u start to replace 25% water each time ( home made method) see this :

example of one gallon milk cheese (u change accordingly)

# ..  At the end of the process, you will have removed whey three times.