Colby-Jack

Colby-Jack
Other names	Marble jack, Co-Jack, Cojack
Country of origin	United States
Region	Wisconsin
Source of milk	Cows
Pasteurised	Yes
Texture	Semi-hard
Aging time	14 days
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Colby-Jack, or Co-jack/Cojack,^[1] is an American marble cheese made from Colby and Monterey Jack. It is classified as semi-hard in texture and is mild due to its two-week aging process. It is generally sold in a full-moon or a half-moon shape when it is young.^[2] The flavor of Colby-Jack is mild to mellow.^[3] Colby-Jack cheese is mainly produced in the states of Wisconsin and California.^[4] It is used in various dishes or as a topping to be melted. These dishes include burgers, pasta bakes, macaroni and cheese, casseroles and so on.^[5] It is predominantly used in the United States, and is not readily available internationally.^{[citation needed]}

The name Colby-Jack comes from the combination of the names of the two kinds of cheese it is made from, Colby and Monterey Jack cheese. Colby cheese originates in Colby, Wisconsin, and was created by Joseph F. Steinwand in 1885.^[6] Monterey Jack cheese originates from Monterey, California, and was made by Mexican Franciscan Friars during the 1700s.^[7] Colby-Jack cheese was then processed by marbling the two kinds of cheese together. This process was first introduced in the same place Colby Cheese was made on its own. It was not made at a large scale until the 20th century when the cheese became more popular and moved out of Wisconsin to larger areas of America (See Factory manufacturing). Before it was made on a large scale, the small, wooden building in Wisconsin only made 57 kg (126 lb) of cheese each day. At this time, Colby-Jack was pressed into a 5.8 kg (13 lb) long-horn shape and dipped in wax.^[8]

Colby-Jack is a marble cheese that is a mixture of Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses. Colby-Jack is a semi-soft American cheese that is made from pasteurised milk. Annatto is the source of the orange color in the Colby component of Colby-Jack.^[9] The flavor of Colby-Jack is determined by the individual cheeses that are used to make it.

The National Salt Reduction Initiative was proposed in 2009 to reduce the ratio of sodium in cheese to 1 g to 100 g.^{[citation needed]} The baseline amount of sodium in 2009 of Colby-Jack was 668 mg of sodium to 100 g of cheese. By 2014 Colby-Jack was down to 600 mg to 100 g of cheese^[10]

Colby and Monterrey Jack cheeses are individually prepared by mixing pasteurized milk and bacterial cultures. Once fully mixed, a coagulant is added, which makes the cheese mixture thicken and take on a gel-like consistency; the addition of coagulant also serves to separate the cheese curds and whey. Annatto is added during the preparation of Colby to give it its trademark orange color. Once ingredients have been mixed, the mixtures are drained of their whey, and high-quality curds of each cheese are selected from the remaining solid product. Chosen curds of both cheeses are then blended together, yielding a marbling of orange and white. The blended cheese is then shaped (frequently into a semicircular or rectangular block) or shredded.^[11] In some instances, the cheese may be dipped in wax for further preservation; this is subject to manufacturer preference.^[6]

Most semi-soft cheese such as Colby-Jack whilst aging should be stored at 40°F to 45°F, wrapped in parchment or wax paper then again in plastic wrap.^[12] The aging process may last up to 14 days kept in a monitored environment to age. The aging process allows the cheese to fully set as well as completely combine in components and flavor.

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The manufacturing of Colby-Jack can be split into two types of manufacturing, wholesale and industrial purposes. The preparation for Colby-Jack remains the same but is made at a larger scale. Due to the large volumes of cheese that is made in the factories, robots are used to make the process easier for large quantities. In particular, large cheese manufacturer Wirtz states, "To support this market need for customised product, we have to push our automation as far as we can, and make it do things that it was not designed to do".^[13] This automation is important as it makes the process easier with the many variations of Colby-Jack that companies need to produce. Once this process is completed, robots are again used to package the cheese and ready for packing and distribution.

The Colby-Jack is packaged and distributed through the utilisation of robotics. These robots pick the cheese from a conveyor belt and pack them into cases ready to be distributed. These robots are flexible and are able to carry 0.03125 to 20 pounds of packaged cheese.^[14] This enables the production sequence to be more efficient and pack more into the packages ready for distribution. Before being distributed a randomly selected pack of Colby-Jack is chosen for quality control. Once this has been done the cheese is ready to be shipped across the US and overseas depending on the manufacturer.

As Colby-Jack is made in different forms, packaging varies for each form of the cheese. The types of packaging that Colby-Jack might be packaged in include^{[importance?]}:

• Vacuum packing
• Paraffin wax
• Latex emulsion (plastic coating)

There are many factors that should be considered when selecting the type of packaging. According to the journal Cheese Problems Solved, these factors include "permeability to water vapor, oxygen, NH₃, CO₂, and light, potential for migration of compounds from food to packaging or vice versa, and practical considerations, including suitability for labelling and compatibility with conditions during distribution and sale".^[15] This packaging will also depend on the manufacturer and is up to their discretion to decide what is best for their product.^{[importance?]}

Colby-Jack cheese is popular in America ^{[citation needed]}, but it can also be found overseas^{[citation needed]}. It is both used in cooking and eaten by itself. Many dishes that commonly use Colby-Jack are American or Mexican in origin. Colby-Jack's mild flavor can make it easy to incorporate into a recipe.^[16]

Traditionally popular American cheeses, such as Colby-Jack, Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, and Colby, have seen a recent decline in popularity in America due to rising popularity of Italian-style cheeses, such as Mozzarella.^[17]

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In 2008, Gregg Palubicki from Alto Dairy Cooperative's Black Creek plant submitted a 40-pound block of Colby-Jack into the World Championship Cheese and Butter Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. ^{[importance?]} The block of cheese won its class in the contest, earning a 97.75 out of 100. After winning the award, president of Alto Dairy at the time, Rich Scheuerman stated: "Alto Dairy is honored to have received such a prestigious title, American-style cheeses such as Alto's Colby-Jack are very popular among U.S. consumers, and Alto is proud to be recognized again for making the best Colby-Jack in the world."^[18]

Colby-Jack is commonly used in commercial settings such as fast-food restaurants and can be widely found in supermarkets. In particular, it is widely used in breakfast fast food. Colby-Jack is commonly used as it melts quickly. Fast-food restaurant Dunkin' Donuts uses Colby-Jack in its 'Supreme Omelette' line.^{[importance?][19]} American quick-service chain Culver's has also used Colby-Jack cheese in one of their most popular burgers, the 'Colby Jack Pub Burger'.^{[importance?][20]} The Culver franchise had the burger as a limited edition burger during 2014. As most foods that are associated with Colby Jack are comfort food, such as casseroles, many restaurants use Colby Jack as the main melting cheese used. Restaurant chain Denny's, uses Colby jack cheese on their skillets and casseroles.^{[importance?]} Restaurant chain 'The Melt', includes "Colby Jack on Whole Wheat", on its small menu.^{[importance?][21]} The popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A also has Colby-Jack as one of the main cheeses available on their chicken sandwiches.^{[importance?]}

In terms of sales, Colby-Jack is highly consumed in the United States. According to the USDA Data, "Per capita consumption of American-style natural cheeses such as cheddar, Colby and Jack cheeses rose from 11.7 pounds in 1995 to more than 15 pounds in 2017",^[22] indicating popularity in cheeses such as Colby-Jack. According to tastewise^[who?], the average yearly consumption growth of Colby-Jack is 38.85% and its frequency of consumption being 1.35 times on average per year.^[23]