Cheese of the Week No. 8

It's time to take a trip to the Netherlands for a tour of goudas. The typical gouda you find in every supermarket is one of the most mass produced cheeses in the world, and somehow it still ends up tasting delicous. From there things only get better with age.

Gouda: pasteurized cow's milk, Netherlands. Semi-hard, mildly flavored, ivory colored cheese that almost always comes packaged in red or black wax. It's easy to snack on, completely inoffensive, and melts well, making it a good alternative to cheddar for almost everything you can imagine.

Geitekaas (Goat Gouda, Arina): pasteurized goat's milk, Netherlands. Semi-hard, full goat flavor, nice smooth texture like regular gouda. Pure white with small holes throughout, often coated in white wax. This is a great alternative to the usual cow's milk, and it's an unusual style for goat's cheese, being sliceable rather than spreadable. Try it on a sandwich, or with beer, wine, crackers and sausage.

Medium aged Gouda (Parrano, Vincent): pasteurized cow's milk, Netherlands. Semi-hard, sprinkling of pea-sized holes throughout, yellowish color. These gouda-style cheeses have been aged about 6 months and have a much bolder flavor, somewhat sweeter and a little tangy, with a lasting taste and irresistable appeal. Wherever I bring this cheese, it's always the first to go. Aside from its utter snackability, it's a great alternative to cheddar on sandwiches and grilled cheese, and it's great shaved over pasta dishes.

Aged Gouda (Amsterdam Reserve, Primadonna, Rembrandt): Semi-hard but very firm, still sliceable while maintaining its shape. Aged one to two years, these cheeses have an orange-yellow color, pea- to marble-sized holes scattered in the paste, and a creamy mouth feel with the occasional crunchy bit. Much bolder than the medium aged cheeses, these begin to reveal caramel and butterscotch flavors with a slight smokey finish. Really delicious, easy to love, and they go well with sausages and red wines. A little goes a long way.

Extra-aged Gouda: cow's milk, Netherlands. After two years of aging, goudas become something altogether different. They enter into the realm of the great Parmagianno-Reggiano and cave-aged Swiss cheeses. Their color deepens to a nice shade of orange, and the paste becomes much more crumbly, barely able to hold together when sliced. I bought a piece of a four-year old gouda today, and let me tell you, there's nothing quite like it. There is still a pleasant creaminess to a morsel of this cheese, but now those delicious crunchy crystals are more abundant and the flavor is miraculous. So many layers develop, ranging from caramel and fruit to smoke and whiskey. This is a wonder to be enjoyed with a great wine or beer, maybe some good smoked fish. A good Belgian ale makes a great partner.