Gouda

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Gouda is a traditional Dutch hard cheese with an interesting history and tradition preserved to this day in the eponymous city in the Netherlands. Gouda is a city in the South Holland, near Rotterdam, but today its name is synonymous with cheese and most people do not even suspect that it exists.

Interestingly, however, the home of this delicacy, traditionally made from whole cow's milk, has kept alive the culture of cheese production. In the historic center of the town of Gouda is the large cheese market, and very close is the old building that houses the Cheese Museum.

Near this city there were once many farms specializing in the production of Gouda according to the established traditional recipe. Today, however, this high-fat product is undergoing a modern modification, and Gouda can also be produced with a reduced salt and fat content, which is considered a healthy dairy product. It is even interesting that the technology of Gouda's production also produces cheeses from sheep's and goat's milk, which impress with their sharp and more spicy taste.

The Dutch grass that the local cows graze is probably the secret of the magical taste of the original Gouda. There are over 20 varieties of grass in the Netherlands, and the most common is the English fast-growing ryegrass, which is known to be extremely rich in minerals.

You will recognize the fresh Gouda in that it has a light, soft and smooth dough, often with small holes. Upon further aging, the cheese acquires a sharper and more complex taste and hardens. The characteristic salt crystals, similar to those of Parmigiano, appear. Old Gouda is hard and very suitable for scraping.

And while the young Gouda can be referred to as semi-soft cheeses, the aged one is dark yellow, even orange. This saturated color is defined by some as brown sugar mixed with butter. This hard cheese is much more crumbly and perhaps the most preferred on the market because of the excellent symbiosis between strong aroma and taste.

The big pies Gouda have a smooth waxy crust and a rounded shape. With the young Dutch cheese you can feel fruity nuances, and all types of gouda are characterized by a delicate milky taste and aroma. The more the delicacy matures, the more the fruit thread transforms into a nutty and complex taste.

History of Gouda

The first cheese Gouda was produced in the town of the same name in the South of the Netherlands and was rather called Gouda. Historical documents have preserved information about this type of cheese since 1184, which automatically makes it one of the oldest types of cheese.

It is believed to be the predecessor of today's Gouda has mastered the surrounding farms since the 16th century. Two centuries later, the town of Gouda became the mecca of cheese. In the 13th century, Gouda's exports were already quite serious, and later in the Middle Ages the hard shell of the delicacy was very suitable for long voyages of sailors.

According to historical sources, Gouda and Edam enjoyed wide popularity throughout Europe. It is even claimed that King Louis XIV of France was a loyal fan of Gouda and was even addicted to delicious cheese. The subsequent ban on cheese imports to France prompted the French to start producing another similar cheese called Mimolet.

In the course of history, immigrants to the New Earth overseas, to the United States and Australia, took the technology of making Gouda with them, and so the cheese spread to 3 continents. And so to this day, when Gouda-like cheese is made all over the world with differences in taste due to climate, the food that cows graze, and so on.

Today, the Gouda Museum is housed in an ancient building from 1668 in the classical style and is one of the most important cultural monuments in the village. In the building of the scales there is also "Kaas Exposium", which is an interactive show of the famous cheese.

Gouda production

The production of Gouda today in the Netherlands it accounts for as much as 60% of the country's cheese exports. It is produced mainly in large dairies and less often in small farms that still prepare their product from unpasteurized cow's milk. As mentioned, the round cakes of the cheese are of different sizes, and its maturation takes from 4 weeks to several years.

And while in small farms the cheese is traditionally made by hand, in modern dairies the preparation of Gouda is fully automated and manual intervention is not allowed in any technological production stage - molding, pressing, turning, draining.

Even the sirens are moved by robotic carts of impressive size, which take the Gouda to the warehouse. The curd comes out of the machines in portions, then is mechanically placed in molds, the pies come out on one side of the press, and on the other they go on the conveyor belt. They should be dipped in brine, where the cheese is salted, acquires a crust and a specific taste. 1 kg of Gouda can be obtained from 10 liters of milk.

Beneath the thin and rather smooth yellow waxy crust of the pies lies the dark yellow, almost orange interior with fine holes. The taste of this traditional Dutch cheese varies depending on its duration of maturation. The young Gouda cheese has a soft and velvety taste.

By the age of 4 months, its taste is sharpened, and aged Gouda is considered to be 10 months. At maturity of 4 weeks, the young Gouda is obtained. The semi-mature one is considered to be 8 weeks old, and the mature one must be 4 months old. A mature Gouda is one that has undergone at least 10 months of maturation.

There are Gouda pies aged 5 years, which are a special delicacy. Of course, even after 3 years, Gouda is already very mature. As a rule, Gouda for more than 18 months is wrapped in black wax, which creates a bright contrast with the deep yellow color of the interior.

The interesting taste of this Dutch cheese is both salty and sweet. It has a fruity aroma and a caramel finish. The complex taste and aroma, which intensifies with aging, reaches its final phase in the face of the most mature farm cheeses, which are characterized by a salty aroma and a mature buttery taste that explodes on the palate.

Composition of Gouda

Gouda is a high-fat cheese that contains an average of 40% water and 60% dry matter. The percentage of fat in the original Dutch cheese is at least 48%, which is the legal requirement for quality gouda cheese, which is in the full-fat column. An old law from 1911 required every cheese pie coming out of the Netherlands to have a control seal. The code indicates the province and the exact place of production of the cheese, as well as the date. A portion of 100 g of Gouda contains 70% of the required daily dose of calcium per person.

100 g of Gouda also contain:

Calories 356; Protein 24.94 g; Carbohydrates 2.22 g; Fat 27.44 g; Sodium 819 mg; Protein 25 g.

Culinary use of Gouda

Gouda's characteristics determine his generous destiny for both table and dessert cheese. Like other similar cheeses, Gouda goes very well with a variety of fruits and nuts. You are free to grate a more mature Gouda on your salad and use a softer one to make sauces and dressings.

Each sandwich made with the addition of Dutch cheese has a guaranteed taste and aroma. You can add Gouda to the sauce of the pasta you prepare or just grate it on top, put it in your lasagna or where you think it tastes right.

The aroma of Gouda perfectly combines with fruity white wines with light to medium light body - Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio. For older and harder cheeses, a glass of vintage port is a good choice.