the.com/aged gouda
Cheese that crystallizes into salty diamonds the longer you ignore it.
means Gouda cheese that has been matured for a year or more, developing a firm, deep amber body, a butterscotch-caramel sweetness, and tiny crunchy crystals of aged protein.
from Named for the Dutch city of Gouda, where cheese was historically bought and sold at market rather than necessarily made — the name marks the trading hub, not a single farm. "Gouda" itself is pronounced closer to "HOW-da" in Dutch. The crunchy crystals that signal serious age are tyrosine, an amino acid that precipitates out as the proteins slowly break down over months and years — so the "diamonds" are quite literally the cheese eating itself into deliciousness.
- crunchy bits
- Crystals are tyrosine, an amino acid, not sugar
- age range
- Can ripen for over five years
- origin name
- Named for a Dutch town, not a recipe
- flavor shift
- Loses moisture, gains caramel and butterscotch notes
- wax coat
- Black wax often signals the oldest wheels
noord-holland aged gouda — dutch cheese aged 12+ months in noord-holland province, protected geographical indication since 1997
beemster reserve — dutch gouda aged 18 months from beemster, north holland, won world cheese awards gold 2016
old amsterdam — gouda aged 24 months, produced in netherlands, characterized by crystalline texture and caramel notes