Edam cheese, history and taste

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In this article, let's talk about cheese, or rather Edam cheese. Lovers and connoisseurs of this product will be interested to learn something new about it.

What is the birthplace of Edam cheese?

When talking about edam cheese, another name immediately comes to mind - edamer. It turns out that these are several names of the same product.

Edam got its name from a port in Holland, from where it was delivered in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. And edamer in translation means "cheese from Edam".

Edam cheese

In many countries of the world analogues of the Dutch product are produced. The real Edam cheese is only made in Holland.

There it is produced in several varieties with the addition of herbs and cumin. It is made in the form of round heads or bars, no more than one and a half kilograms each. The fat content of classic cheese is forty percent.

Taste characteristics

In terms of hardness, Edam cheese is classified simultaneously as hard and semi-hard varieties. It depends on how long it takes. The young product has a softer texture, it is less spicy with a sweet nutty flavor.

Producing Edam cheese, they use starter from lactic acid bacteria and rennet. To give a beautiful color to the finished product, a natural dye from the seeds of a tropical shrub is used.

Apple juice is added to Edam cheese to add a piquant taste. In general, edam has a sweetish milky taste. Traditionally, young cheese is covered with red wax, while aged cheese is covered with black wax.

Serving to the table

The nutty light flavor of the cheese really opens up when paired with aged red wine. Classic edam is served with wines: Chateau Tonel, Chateau Pelerin, Chateau Côte du Rhone.

Edam cheese (photos are given in the article) is universal. The form of its presentation depends only on taste preferences. It can be baked, grated for making snacks. In Holland, breakfast with edam, combined with eggs and chocolate, is considered traditional. Locals love not just cheese, but also all the dishes that can be cooked with it. Therefore, this product is a must for a good hearty lunch or dinner.

Cheese ceremony

Although the Dutch tend to be simple, everything about their favorite cheese comes with strict rules. There must be a special board, preferably marble, although an ordinary wooden one is also suitable. In addition, you will need special cheese knives. There should be at least three of them: one with a very thin and long blade for hard cheeses, the second for softer varieties with a fork at the tip and holes on the blade that prevent the product from sticking when cutting. And the third kind– for semi-soft cheeses (has a wide blade).

The Dutch have such respect and adoration for their pet that even the usual process of cutting cheese turns into a whole ceremony.

Edam taste

Edam cheese (Edam) reviews are the most positive. At home, it is considered a must-have product, without which the Dutch do not do a single day. The secret of his universal adoration lies in the piquant taste that he gets by adding apple juice to it. It is this nuance that gives the cheese a wonderful milky taste.

An interesting fact: the longer the aging of the cheese, the brighter and richer the flavor becomes. It would seem that all the secrets of cooking edam have long been revealed, but not a single manufacturer in the world manages to fully reproduce its taste. So, whatever one may say, the real edam is produced only in his homeland, in Holland.

Holland Cheese Fair

Edam has become a symbol of Dutch cheesemaking. There are many types of it, the names of which often use the word "ball" or "head": this is how it is traditionally produced.

In the Netherlands, in the city of Alkmaar, annually in the summer, a cheese market is opened, accompanied by various ceremonies, one of which is dedicated to edam. Porters carry cheese heads to the square and spread almost all the free space with them.

Historical digression

Edam has long been a hallmark of the Netherlands, because most of it is produced specifically for export. For herselfcountries, this cheese has become the main component for prosperity since the Middle Ages. Charles the Fifth at one time granted the opportunity to arrange a cheese market every week. This tradition has partly survived to this day.

Edam, made for the local population, covered with yellow wax, red is used for export. True connoisseurs and connoisseurs of this product prefer aged varieties (from several months to one and a half years), covered with black wax. Imagine that edam production is twenty-seven percent of the country's cheese production.

Edam making process

Cheese is made from milk by pouring it into a container (also called a cheese bath) and adding a curdling agent. As a rule, it is rennet, thanks to which milk becomes thicker. Lactic acid bacteria are also added. The resulting mass is heated to fifty degrees. Add herbs and spices.

And then comes the molding period. The future product needs to be compacted, perhaps even cut into separate parts and placed in special forms. Next, excess liquid must be removed from the cheese mass, as a rule, using a press. The more pressure, the drier the finished cheese will turn out. The resulting product is called the head, although the shape is not always round.

S alt is added to almost all cheeses, which will not only add flavor, but also increase shelf life. And then the cheese needs to rest. This period is called maturation. In fact, it just lies in special places, likeTypically, these are cool rooms. The process can drag on from several months to two years.

Here is such an interesting technology for the production of Edam cheese. At the very end, a stamp is applied to each head, which makes it easy to determine the time and place of production of the product. This is the so-called Dutch Quality Guarantee.