This is a follow-up piece to my post a few weeks ago on cheese tasting in my food-writing class. It turns out that all three of the cheeses we tasted were Gouda, so our assignment this time was to write about Gouda. Apologies for the funky formatting & poor citations in places.
When one says GOO-dah, most Americans today will think of the soft, mild and buttery cheese readily found at any average supermarket. It’s only a smaller but growing number of Americans, however, who are familiar with aged Gouda; these few are likely the same ones who know that it’s actually pronounced HOW-dah. Though the town of Gouda in the western Netherlands has been producing its eponymous cheese since the 6th century, Food & Wine magazine listed aged Gouda among its “Trendsetting Ingredients” as recently as last month.
In the Gouda clan, the aged varieties bear such a striking contrast to the mild young things industrially-produced for mainstream outlets that one might question their relatedness. Whereas the former is traditionally enshrouded in a layer of black wax, the average Gouda is outfitted in cheery red or yellow. Appropriately described as “assertive,” aged Gouda is gritty in texture, amber in color, robust in flavor and defiant in personality, rejecting neat slices in favor of craggy shards.
The relative obscurity of aged Gouda belies its intensely pleasing taste: sharply salty with a sweet finish, a complex caramel flavor that far trumps anything that young Goudas can offer. The sweetness results from the washing of the curds during the production process, and the grainy texture of the aged cheese can be attributed to the naturally-occurring amino acid tyrosine, which speckles the cheese with tiny crystals during the maturation process. Whereas young Goudas take mere weeks or months to ripen, the maturation of aged Goudas can last anywhere from one to seven-plus years.
Since the name “Gouda” is not legally protected, the cheese may be made anywhere in the world. Though production has long since moved away from its birthplace in the town of Gouda, the weekly Kaasmarkt, a cheese market representing a 300 year-old tradition, is still held there from mid-June to early September. Get there in time for the market on Thursday morning, and in the afternoon, take a spin around town on the Cheese Express, a horse-drawn wagon that runs only on market days. Stay for the weekend to pay a visit to the 15th-century Gothic style town hall, one of the oldest in the Netherlands, and take home a smoking pipe and some candles, for which the town is known. For the armchair travelers seeking a taste of aged Gouda, pick up a copy of Gouda in Foto’s from Amazon.com and then head to your local Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s for a wedge of cheese. Alternatively, order the Gouda online to have it delivered to your door.
While young Gouda takes most readily to beer, the aged variety is best paired with wines featuring notes of butterscotch and caramel: a Chardonnay or dry Riesling among the whites, or a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir among the reds. As satisfying as it is in its pure form, picture the aged Gouda shaved into parchment-colored, feather-like curls and floated atop a bed of tender, vibrantly green asparagus spears. Or, imagine dipping a skewered chunk of dark, crusty bread into a pot of golden, bubbling aged Gouda fondue.
I’ll share with you, that the first time I tasted aged Gouda, I was blown away. It was a five year-old “antique,” and as I took in the grainy texture and honey color, I was mystified by the foreign flavor – I had never tasted anything like it, whether in cheese or any other food form. The transformative magic that time had worked on this Gouda was bewildering. My mind tried in vain to place the taste – the closest thing it could identify was the flavor of soy sauce. I knew immediately that this cheese would become something I would crave – a nibble, sufficiently satisfying.
As the wimpy bries and tame young Goudas of my past faded quickly from memory, I wondered why no one had bothered to introduce me to aged Gouda earlier. As so often is the case, I did not consider my former ignorance blissful, but I reminded myself to be grateful that someone did enlighten me, even if it was later than I would have liked. And so, here I am, paying it forward by divulging to you my newfound source of delight. To those who have long known about aged Gouda, I envy you, and to those who are hearing about it for the first time here – You’re welcome.
Below I have listed online merchants that carry the aged varieties, as well as a handful of recipes featuring creative uses of aged Gouda. When shopping for the cheese, note that prices per pound will tend to increase with the age of the cheese, and artisanal Goudas will usually be labeled Boerenkaas, meaning farmer’s cheese.
www.winchestercheese.com
www.murrayscheese.com
· Reypenaer V.S.O.P. (2 years), $34.96/pound
www.formaggiokitchen.com
· Extra Triple Aged Gouda (5 years), $19.99/pound
www.igourmet.com
· Roomano (6 years), $20.50/pound
www.artisanalcheese.com
· Aged Gouda Fondue with Caraway Croutons
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aged-gouda-fondue-with-caraway-croutons
· Sautéed Asparagus with Aged Gouda Cheese
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/sauteed-asparagus-with-aged-gouda-cheese?autonomy_kw=gouda&rsc=header_1
· Aged Gouda Biscotti with Walnuts
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aged-gouda-biscotti-with-walnuts
· Grilled Plum Salad with Aged Gouda and Pecans
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/grilled-plum-salad-with-aged-gouda-and-pecans-recipe/index.html
[1] "Gouda, Bon Appetit 01 Feb. 2009 <http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/ingredients/2008/04/gouda>.
[2] “What to Cook Now: Trendsetting Ingredients,” Food & Wine Jan. 2009, 01 Feb. 2009
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