Gouda

Specific steps in cheesemaking dictate the final product. In making Gouda-style cheese, that step is washing the curd before pressing. Washing the curd removes some of the lactose (sugar in milk) before it converts to lactic acid. This step accomplishes two goals for the cheesemaker: the finished cheese becomes sweeter as it ages (as opposed to sharper as with aged cheddar) and the cheese becomes lactose free. For those with an intolerance to lactose, this makes Gouda a cheese they can enjoy. For more information regarding lactose and cheese, please review my article by clicking here. Also, The Cheese Wanker has an excellent article that contains a chart of Lactose-free cheeses.

Gouda is named after the town in The Netherlands where it was first sold. It was first mentioned in the late 12th Century. Many wheels made in Holland are stamped “Holland” and wheels produced on the farm are called Boerenkaas which translates to “Farm Cheese”.

The name “Gouda” is not protected under European or international law, although Noord-Hollandse Gouda is PDO – protected designation of origin, Gouda Holland is PGI – protected geographical indication (a much larger territory than PDO) and Boerenkaas is TSG – traditional specialities guaranteed (not tied to geographic location – Traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) highlights the traditional aspects such as the way the product is made or its composition, without being linked to a specific geographical area.).**

Young Gouda is mild and creamy and as it ages becomes sweeter and brittle. Many aged Goudas also contain those crunchy tyrosine crystals that I love and when I was behind the cheese counters, the customers also loved them. More than once a week a customer would request “That cheese with the crunchies”. For more information on cheese crystals check out this article written by Pat Polowsky, ACS CCP.

As mentioned many times, two of my favorite cheeses are Rembrandt and Parrano. Both are made in Holland. Rembrandt is a true Gouda while Parrano contains both gouda and parmesan cultures. Both are available in my cheese shop at Sweet Combs of Honey and in my Amazon Influencer Storefront. I have a large selection of fine goudas available at Amazon.

For more details about Gouda, please check out this article at The Cheese Professor written by Hannah Howard.

**https://www.cheeseprofessor.com/blog/gouda-cheese-history-producers

Up next, Double Creme, Triple Creme and Surface-Ripened Cheeses

In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.

This post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission from any purchases you make through those links. I thank you for patronizing my amazon influencer store front. 

Cheese events at Sweet Combs of Honey will begin again in the next several weeks. Enjoy your summer vacation!!

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