Gouda (cheese) facts for kids
Gouda is a kind of soft cheese made from cows' milk. The cheese is named after the city of Gouda, which is famous for it. The name Gouda is not protected, so Gouda is made all over the world. There is also a protected designation of origin Noord-Hollandse Gouda (Gouda from North Holland). This may seem inaccurate, because the city of Gouda is in South Holland. Most of the cows however graze in North Holland.
There are two varieties of Gouda for export: Young gouda, which is between one and six months old. Young gouda is usually sold with a yellow or red coating of paraffin wax.
Gouda that is older, is usually sold with a black coating. It is more brittle, and has a stronger scent.
There are other variations, like Smoked Gouda, which is a processed cheese, and Leyden Gouda.
There is also spiced gouda which has spices in it to make it have more flavour.
History
The first mention of Gouda cheese dates from 1184, making it one of the oldest recorded cheeses in the world still made today.
The cheese is named after the Dutch city of Gouda, not because it is produced in or near the city, but because it has historically been traded there. In the Middle Ages, Dutch cities could obtain certain feudal rights which gave them primacy or a total monopoly on certain goods. Within the County of Holland, Gouda acquired market rights on cheese, the sole right to have a market in which the county's farmers could sell their cheese. All the cheeses would be taken to the market square in Gouda to be sold.
Teams consisting of the guild of cheese-porters, identified by differently colored straw hats, carried the farmers' cheeses on barrows, which typically weighed about 16 kg. Buyers then sampled the cheeses and negotiated a price using a ritual system called handjeklap in which buyers and sellers clap each other's hands and shout prices. Once a price was agreed upon, the porters would carry the cheese to the weighing house and complete the sale. To this day, farmers from the surrounding region gather in Gouda every Thursday morning between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm from June until August to have their cheeses weighed, tasted, and priced. Today, most Dutch Gouda is produced industrially. However, some 300 Dutch farmers still produce boerenkaas (“farmers cheese”) which is a protected form of Gouda made in the traditional manner, using unpasteurized milk. Cheesemaking traditionally was a woman's task in Dutch culture, with farmers' wives passing their cheesemaking skills on to their daughters.
Process
Various sources suggest that the term "Gouda" refers more to a general style of cheesemaking rather than to a specific kind of cheese, pointing to its taste varying with age. Young (and factory-produced) gouda has been described as having a flavor that is "lightly fudgy with nuts, but very, very, very mild", while the same source describes a more mature farmhouse Gouda as having a "lovely fruity tang" with a "sweet finish", that may take on "an almost butterscotch flavor" if aged over two years.
After cultured milk is curdled, some of the whey is then drained and water is added. This is called "washing the curd", and creates a sweeter cheese, as the washing removes some of the lactose, resulting in a reduction of lactic acid produced. About 10% of the mixture is curds, which are pressed into circular molds for several hours. These molds are the essential reason behind its traditional, characteristic shape. The cheese is then soaked in a brine solution, which gives the cheese and its rind a distinctive taste.
The cheese is dried for a few days before being coated with a yellow coating to prevent it from drying out, then it is aged, during which process the cheese changes from semihard to hard. Dutch cheesemakers generally use six gradations to classify the cheese:
- Young cheese (4 weeks)
- Young matured (8–10 weeks)
- Matured (16–18 weeks)
- Extra matured (7–8 months)
- Old cheese (10–12 months)
- Very old cheese (12 months and more)
As it ages, it develops a caramel sweetness and has a slight crunchiness from cheese crystals, especially in older cheeses. In the Netherlands, cubes of gouda are often eaten as a snack served with Dutch mustard. Older varieties are sometimes topped with sugar or apple syrup. Cubes of old and very old gouda are eaten alongside strong beers or with port wine.
See also
In Spanish: Queso gouda para niños
