Amsterdam – Dutch Cheese

(Source: 699pic.com)

An introduction to Dutch cheese

Be it at breakfast, on sandwiches, cut in cubes and served with mustard, or even fried in a croquette, you can find an excuse to eat cheese any time of day. So next time you find yourself passing a specialist cheese shop, stop and explore the delicious world of Dutch cheese inside.

Gouda: Holland’s best-loved cheese

The Netherlands produces a variety of tempting cheeses, but the most typical and best known are the hard or semi-hard cheeses. You might be familiar with Gouda – rightfully Holland’s most popular cheese. Yet its only when tasting Gouda in its country of origin that it's revealed how complex it can actually be. Gouda (as well as many other Dutch cheeses) is categorised by how long it has been aged: jong (1 month), belegen (4 months), oud (10 months), and overjarig (1 year or more). It starts out its life as mild and creamy, but develops a drier texture and more intense flavour the longer it’s aged.

Lesser-known Dutch cheeses

Beyond a broad spectrum of Goudas, the Netherlands produces a number of other cheeses. Geitenkaas (goat cheese) is a bright white semi-hard cheese made for grating, slicing and sandwiches. Filled with holes, Maasdammer has a sweet nutty taste that resembles Emmentaller (swiss cheese). Deliciously creamy Boerenkaas (farmers cheese) is made with fresh unpasteurised milk. Compared to other blue cheeses, Bleu de Graven or Delft’s Blauw has a rich, fairly mild flavour. You'll also find cheeses studded with herbs and spices like cloves, mustard seeds, nettles and most commonly cumin.

(Source: 699pic.com)

(Source: 699pic.com)