By Rafe Calder
Gouda is a town, a style and a protected name. They do not mean the same thing.
The name and the market
Wikipedia says Gouda cheese is named after the city of Gouda in South Holland, where cheeses were taken to the market square to be sold. It says typical wheels weighed about 16 kilograms, and describes the handjeklap, a ritual of hand-clapping and price negotiation between buyers and sellers. Our sources do not say how much has ever been made in Gouda itself, and we have not found a figure.
Three protected names
Wikipedia says three names are protected geographical indications in the European Union: Boerenkaas, Noord-Hollandse Gouda and Gouda Holland. They must be made in the Netherlands, it says, and can use only milk from Dutch cows. The European Commission’s agriculture pages are more specific about two of them. They say Noord-Hollandse Gouda received protected designation of origin status in 1996, with milk exclusively from the province of Noord-Holland, and describe it as a less salty variety. They say Gouda Holland gained protected geographical indication status in 2010, with milk from cows grazing on Dutch dairy farms across the Netherlands, and describe it as a naturally matured, semi-hard cheese.
The two sources differ on the status of Noord-Hollandse Gouda and Boerenkaas. Wikipedia calls all three PGIs. The Commission describes Noord-Hollandse Gouda as a PDO. We are giving both, and we have not looked at the register.
Before 2010
A dairy-organisation page says that before 2010 Gouda cheese had no legal protection, despite its global reputation, and that the EU then granted protected geographical indication status to both Gouda Holland and Edam Holland. It says the Gouda Holland seal certifies that the cheese comes from Dutch milk from Dutch cows and is ripened on Dutch soil. The page says this distinguishes Dutch Gouda from cheese carrying the same name made elsewhere. That is a promotional account by the dairy sector, and it matches the Commission’s wording. The page does not say what the protection changed for a buyer in practice, and we are not going to guess at it.
How it is made
The Commission says milk is pasteurised at a minimum of 72 degrees Celsius for 15 seconds, then curdled at about 30 degrees, before the curd is washed, pressed and put in brine. It describes the traditional shape as a flattened wheel. Wikipedia calls Gouda a washed-curd cheese, in which some of the whey is drained and water is added. It says young wheels are coated with yellow wax or a plastic-like coating for preservation.
Farmhouse cheese
Wikipedia says about 300 Dutch farmers still make boerenkaas, the farmer’s cheese, traditionally from unpasteurised milk. That is a different route from the pasteurised process the Commission describes for Gouda Holland. A cheese blog says the recipe for Noord-Hollandse Gouda has been laid down in law since 1911, and describes a caramel-coloured cheese with a hard, inedible rind, sold in wheels. The blog is a consumer’s account, and we have not checked the 1911 date or the rind description against the specification. We have not checked the boerenkaas specification itself, so we are not setting out its rules.
Six ages
Wikipedia says Dutch cheesemakers classify Gouda into six stages of maturation:
- Young, about four weeks
- Young matured, eight to ten weeks
- Matured, 16 to 18 weeks
- Extra matured, seven to nine months
- Old, ten to twelve months
- Very old, twelve to 21 months
The Commission says young cheeses are sweet and soft and that, as they age, they develop a firmer texture and a deeper golden colour, with more complex flavours. It says full maturation can exceed one year. We have not seen how the age is certified, and we are not going to describe flavour beyond what the Commission says.
What to ask
Which of the three protected names, if any, is on the label? Is it a farmhouse cheese, and if so, from which farm? How old is it, and on what scale: weeks, or one of the six stages above? Was the milk raw or pasteurised? Who made it? We are not recommending a cheesemaker or quoting prices.
The market today
A Wikipedia article on Dutch cheese markets says Gouda’s market opens from mid-June through August, on Thursday mornings from 10:00 to 12:30. It says Gouda cheese has been traded there for more than three centuries, that farmers gather to have their cheese weighed, tasted and priced, and that the market is surrounded by exhibits of traditional Dutch trades, including cheese making, clog making and buttermilk preparation. The same article says the handjeklap is the ritual in which buyers and sellers clap hands while calling out prices. It places the other Dutch markets elsewhere, and says Woerden’s Wednesday market has run for more than a hundred years and puts farmers’ cheeses ahead of spectacle. We have not checked this year’s schedule, and the market is a visit, not a guarantee of any particular cheese.
Why the age matters
An age on the label is a promise about time, and a protected name is a promise about place. A cheese like Gouda lets you ask for both. A wheel that has spent eighteen months maturing is not the same product as one that has spent four weeks, even if the label says Gouda, and a label that gives only the town tells you very little.
Roam first. Shop later.
If you make cheese or dairy foods in the Netherlands, the process for getting listed is at /sell-with-sephari/