Gouda cheese refers to the hard varieties of a product made from cow's milk with a fat content of 45 to 51%. Only real gourmets can truly appreciate the incredible taste of a real young cheese.
Gouda cheese: a story of creation
The history of the origin of the famous cheese began in the Dutch city of Gouda. For centuries, a delicious product has been sold in local markets, and at the end of the 19th century it became widespread. For a rather long time, gouda was produced in large heads of 12 kg, but only now they began to produce 4.5 kg. The first mention of this product can be found in the annals of 1184, although even during the Gallic war, Julius Caesar in his notes talked about delicious Dutch cheese and promised to find out his recipe.
Appearance
Many cheesemakers claim that gouda cheese is one of the easiest and most unobtrusive to taste. Its crust should be moderately dense, without cracks and tears. Inside the head is golden yellow, homogeneous with small holes.
You can find out what tastes and what real Gouda cheese looks like (photo below), either in Holland or in European cheese stores.
The longer the cheese ripens, the drier and richer it becomes.
Varieties
Of course, the first cheese was completely ordinary, with no additives. It was made manually at home. After some time, a variety of cheese appeared, which was called the "Dutch master". The peculiarity of such a product was that it matured for a whole year, due to which it had a very rich taste and smell, and also had a fairly solid consistency. Gourmets preferred to consume this variety with wine or other spirits.
Since the year 1297, farmers in the Netherlands have been producing spicy Gouda cheese, the recipe of which is still being observed. He was even identified in a separate form - “Burenkas”. This is a special farm cheese variety, which is produced by about 300 farms throughout Holland. This product is made from unpasteurized milk and is considered a delicacy worldwide.
On the shelves you can find varieties of cheese with caraway seeds and mustard, herbs and other spices. In Russia, such cheese is produced under the brand name “Russian Gouda”.
It should be noted that the word "Gouda" itself is not a trademark, therefore, any company and country can produce cheese delicacies with this name according to their own recipes.
The only confirmation that Gouda cheese is made in Holland is the Noord-Hollandse Gouda trademark, which is officially registered in the European Union. Currently, gouda is divided into varieties according to readiness time:
- The youngest - 4 weeks.
- 8-10 weeks - young.
- 16-18 weeks - average.
- 7-8 months - seasoned.
- 10-12 months.
- Older than 18 months.
The dairy product also differs in the weight of the head. Traditionally, the weight of the finished cheese is 12 or 6 kg. However, some manufacturers produce it with a minimum weight of 500 grams, and in industrial production they extract up to 40 kg of product from molds.
Each head of Gouda cheese has a manufacturer’s stamp, which indicates the country, aging time, calorie content and some other features. On industrial cheeses the stamp is round, and on farm cheeses - square.
Making Dutch Cheese
Cheese recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Every Dutch family has features or secrets for preparing a product. Currently, gouda cheese is prepared by adding starter or bacteria to milk, which is heated until the whey is separated.
Rinse the cottage cheese to remove the acid, which gives the cheese an unpleasant bitterness. Not only the calorie content of the finished product, but also its taste, directly depends on the fat content and quality of milk. Then the cottage cheese is packed in round forms of various volumes and placed under the press for 2-3 hours. The finished head must first be washed with saline to form a crust and add flavor. Then the cheese is sent for aging.
Interestingly, 800 years ago it was prepared from fresh milk and washed with sea water, due to this the product had a gentle creamy taste.
Beneficial features
Nutritionists believe that when we eat 50 grams of cheese, we drink 500 ml of milk. It contains all the useful trace elements, as in other dairy products, but they are absorbed more easily and faster due to special "cheese" bacteria.
To reduce weight, Gouda cheese is useful, the calorie content of which does not exceed 356 kcal per 100 grams, and the value for the body is very high. The product contains vitamins of groups B, A, C and D, as well as calcium, selenium and other trace elements.
It is important to eat cheese properly. It must be warmed to room temperature and eat in the morning - only so will the maximum benefit of this product.
But the cheese crust, so beloved by many, is better not to eat. It contains many substances formed during the ripening of cheese, which will not bring benefits to the body.
Gouda Cheese: Gourmet Reviews on Various Varieties
Today it is rarely possible to meet really high-quality and tasty cheese in an ordinary store. Modern manufacturers, trying to reduce the cost of the product, make it almost tasteless.
Most often on the shelves you can find home-made gouda cheese, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Dutch counterpart. In appearance, it is practically without cavities, of medium hardness.
Most buyers prefer European-made gouda cheese. Value for money for these products corresponds. Taste properties are close to quality standards.
However, if you want to try really tasty and real cheese, then you need to look for a Dutch-made product with a characteristic trademark.