Gouda cheese
| Gouda | |
|---|---|
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| Country of origin | Netherlands |
| Region | South Holland |
| Town | Gouda |
| Source of milk | Cows |
| Pasteurised | Possibly |
| Texture | Semi-hard to Hard |
| Aging time | 1–36 months |
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Gouda (
i/ˈɡaʊdə/,;Dutch: Goudse kaas, meaning "cheese from Gouda") is a Dutch yellow cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands. One of the most popular cheeses worldwide, the name is used today as a general term for a variety of similar cheese produced in the traditional Dutch manner, as well as the Dutch original.
The first mention of Gouda cheese dates from 1184, making it one of the oldest recorded cheeses in the world still made today.
The cheese is named after the Dutch city of Gouda, not because it is produced in or near the city, but because it has historically been traded there. In the Middle Ages, Dutch cities could obtain certain feudal rights which gave them primacy or a total monopoly on certain goods. Within the County of Holland, Gouda acquired market rights on cheese, the sole right to have a market in which the county's farmers could sell their cheese. All the cheeses would be taken to the market square in Gouda to be sold.
Teams consisting of the guild of cheese-porters, identified by differently colored straw hats, carried the farmers' cheeses on barrows, which typically weighed about 16 kg. Buyers then sampled the cheeses and negotiated a price using a ritual system called handjeklap in which buyers and sellers clap each other's hands and shout prices. Once a price was agreed, the porters would carry the cheese to the weighing house and complete the sale. To this day, farmers from the surrounding region gather in Gouda every Thursday morning between 10 am and 12:30 pm from June until August to have their cheeses weighed, tasted, and priced. Today, most Dutch Gouda is produced industrially. However, some 300 Dutch farmers still produce boerenkaas (“farmers cheese”) which is a protected form of Gouda made in the traditional manner, using unpasteurized milk. Cheesemaking traditionally was a woman's task in Dutch culture, with farmers' wives passing their cheesemaking skills on to their daughters.
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