Dutch Gouda cheese is a gourmet product

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

Gouda cheese is a hard product made from cow's milk with a fat content of 45 to 51%. Only real gourmets can truly appreciate the incredible taste of real young cheese.

Gouda cheese: the history of creation

The history of the origin of the famous cheese began in the Dutch city of Gouda. For centuries, the delicious product was sold in local markets, and at the end of the 19th century it became widespread. For quite a long time, gouda was produced in large heads of 12 kg, but only now it began to be produced in 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 spoke in his notes about the delicious Dutch cheese and promised to find out its recipe.

Appearance

Many cheese makers claim that gouda cheese is one of the lightest and most unobtrusive in taste. Its crust should be moderately dense, without cracks and breaks. Inside the head is golden yellow, uniform with small holes.

What does real Gouda cheese look like (photo below), you can find out either in Holland or in European cheese brand stores.

The longer the cheese ages, the drier and richer it becomes.

Varieties

Of course, the first cheese was absolutely ordinary, without additions. Made by hand, at home. After some time, a variety of cheese appeared, which was called "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 texture. Gourmets preferred this variety to be consumed with wine or other spirits.

In Holland, farmers have been producing spicy gouda cheese since 1297, the recipe of which is still followed today. It was even identified as a separate species - "Burenkas". This is a special farmer's variety of cheese, which is produced by about 300 farms throughout the Netherlands. This product is made from unpasteurized milk and is considered a delicacy throughout the world.

On store shelves you can find varieties of cheese with cumin and mustard, herbs and other spices. In Russia, such cheese is produced under the Russian Gouda trademark.

It should be noted that the word "gouda" itself is not a trademark, so 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 the time of readiness:

1. Youngest - 4 weeks.
2. 8-10 weeks young.
3. 16-18 weeks average.
4. 7-8 months - aged.
5. 10-12 months.
6. Over 18 months.

Different dairy product and 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, up to 40 kg of product is removed from the 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 it is square.

Making Dutch cheese

Cheese production recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Each Dutch family has its own peculiarities or secrets of cooking the product. Nowadays, gouda cheese is made by adding starter or bacteria to milk, which is heated until the whey separates.

Cottage cheese must be washed to remove the acid that gives the cheese an unpleasant bitterness. The fat content and quality of milk directly affects not only the calorie content of the finished product, but also its taste. Then the cottage cheese is packaged in round shapes of various sizes and placed under a press for 2-3 hours. The finished head must first be washed with saline to form a crust and add flavor. The cheese is then sent for aging.

Interestingly, 800 years ago it was prepared from fresh milk and washed with sea water, fordue to this product had a delicate creamy taste.

Useful properties

Nutritionists believe that eating 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.

Gouda cheese is useful for weight loss, 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 B, A, C and D, as well as calcium, selenium and other trace elements.

It is important to use cheese properly. It must be warmed to room temperature and eaten in the morning - this is the only way to get the maximum benefit from 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 benefit the body.

Gouda cheese: gourmet reviews of different varieties

Today, it is rare to find 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 domestically produced 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. The ratio of price and quality of these products corresponds. Taste properties are close to quality standards.

However, if you want to taste really tasty and real cheese, then you need to look for a Dutch-made product with a characteristic trademark.