All about cheese in Gouda
Gouda is our preferred kaas (cheese) here at home, the Jong type, because it’s what Dutchman eats every single day for breakfast and lunch together with his boterham, a Dutch word that has nothing to do with butter (boter) or ham. Boterham means sliced bread. Who would have thought sliced bread translation can be so complicated in Dutch?
The beautiful ‘De Waag’ (Weigh House, also known as kaaswaag) was built in circa 1668—back in the olden days, the cheeses are weighed here in De Waag before they are auctioned for trade in the Goudse market. It is now a cheese and souvenir shop as well as a cheese museum.
So, obviously Gouda cheese comes from Gouda, a town in the South Holland province but the cheese is actually made in the surroundings, in Het Groene Hart (countryside in the middle of the 4 big Dutch cities). During the summer months, from June to August, every Thursday mornings there is a cheese market and demonstration inclusive of cultural activities held on the market square at the back of the Gouda Stadshuis (town hall that sits in the middle of the square) and in front of De Waag (weigh house).
Façade details of the ‘De Waag’ building located on the Gouda market square. De Waag is a rijksmonument (state monument).
Gouda cheeses come not only in large wheels but in small wheels as well.
There are many types of Gouda cheese and they are all based on the aging process, between 1 and 36 months:
1) Graskaas (grass cheese, a new technique in cheese making made from cows that freshly eat grass after the winter time)
2) Jong (young cheese)
3) Jong Belegen (young riped cheese)
4) Belegen (riped cheese)
5) Extra Belegen (extra riped cheese)
6) Oud (aged cheese) and
7) Extra Oud (extra aged cheese) – I love old and spicy cheeses, I even eat those moldy French cheese that stinks like hell
Cheese connoisseur farmers as well often experiment Dutch cheeses by adding herbs and dried tomatoes into the mixture.
On the left you can find the kaasschaaf (cheese slicer and scraper) used to slice cheese for bread, and in the middle foto you can see the traditional weighing scale.
More paraphernalia used to make and mould cheese. The woman behind the cheese counter was more than happy to pose for a foto!
Closer foto of the yellow cheese wheels and the wines that go with them perfectly. Uniekaas is a Gouda cheese brand. The shop also sells other complementary gastronomic delights.
Trivia: Aside from the world famous Gouda cheese, Gouda is also known for its stroopwafels (caramelized cookie waffles). History goes back to 1784 in a bakery in Gouda. The stroopwafels are probably the most sought-after souvenir pastry both by tourists to bring home and the Dutch to give as gifts when traveling.
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The beautiful ‘De Waag’ (Weigh House, also known as kaaswaag) was built in circa 1668—back in the olden days, the cheeses are weighed here in De Waag before they are auctioned for trade in the Goudse market. It is now a cheese and souvenir shop as well as a cheese museum.
So, obviously Gouda cheese comes from Gouda, a town in the South Holland province but the cheese is actually made in the surroundings, in Het Groene Hart (countryside in the middle of the 4 big Dutch cities). During the summer months, from June to August, every Thursday mornings there is a cheese market and demonstration inclusive of cultural activities held on the market square at the back of the Gouda Stadshuis (town hall that sits in the middle of the square) and in front of De Waag (weigh house).
Façade details of the ‘De Waag’ building located on the Gouda market square. De Waag is a rijksmonument (state monument).
Gouda cheeses come not only in large wheels but in small wheels as well.
There are many types of Gouda cheese and they are all based on the aging process, between 1 and 36 months:
1) Graskaas (grass cheese, a new technique in cheese making made from cows that freshly eat grass after the winter time)
2) Jong (young cheese)
3) Jong Belegen (young riped cheese)
4) Belegen (riped cheese)
5) Extra Belegen (extra riped cheese)
6) Oud (aged cheese) and
7) Extra Oud (extra aged cheese) – I love old and spicy cheeses, I even eat those moldy French cheese that stinks like hell
Cheese connoisseur farmers as well often experiment Dutch cheeses by adding herbs and dried tomatoes into the mixture.
On the left you can find the kaasschaaf (cheese slicer and scraper) used to slice cheese for bread, and in the middle foto you can see the traditional weighing scale.
More paraphernalia used to make and mould cheese. The woman behind the cheese counter was more than happy to pose for a foto!
Closer foto of the yellow cheese wheels and the wines that go with them perfectly. Uniekaas is a Gouda cheese brand. The shop also sells other complementary gastronomic delights.
Trivia: Aside from the world famous Gouda cheese, Gouda is also known for its stroopwafels (caramelized cookie waffles). History goes back to 1784 in a bakery in Gouda. The stroopwafels are probably the most sought-after souvenir pastry both by tourists to bring home and the Dutch to give as gifts when traveling.
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