Gouda

Gouda: Nutrition, History and Cooking Guide

Gouda is a Dutch semi-hard to hard cow's milk cheese named after the city of Gouda in South Holland, though it has been produced throughout the Netherlands since the thirteenth century and is now made worldwide. The Gouda cheese market in the city of Gouda was — and still is — one of the most iconic Dutch food traditions, conducted weekly on the historic cheese square (Markt) during the season, where farmers and buyers carry out the traditional slapping, sniffing, and tasting cheese selection ceremony. Gouda is the world's most widely exported cheese type by volume, with global production in the United States, Germany, Australia, and many other countries dwarfing Dutch production. Authentic Dutch Gouda ranges from young (jong, aged four to six weeks) — mild, soft, and slightly sweet — through aged varieties (belegen, oud, extra oud) aged one to three years, which develop a much deeper, more complex, nuttier-caramel character with crystalline tyrosine deposits similar to Parmesan. Young gouda is mild enough for sandwiches and general everyday use; aged Gouda is a connoisseur's cheese with a complexity that can challenge the finest hard cheeses of other traditions.

Nutritional Value of Gouda

Gouda provides 356 kcal and 24.9 g of protein per 100 g, with 27.4 g of fat. Calcium at approximately 700 mg per 100 g is very high. It provides vitamin A, vitamin K2, B12, zinc, and phosphorus. Aged Gouda has lower lactose than fresh — it is well tolerated by many with lactose sensitivity.

How to Select and Use Gouda

For everyday use: young Gouda is mild and creamy, excellent in sandwiches, in omelettes, melted on toasted bread, and in cooking wherever a mild, melting cheese is wanted. For a cheese board: seek out aged or extra-aged Gouda from Dutch importers or specialist cheese shops — the amber, crystalline interior and complex caramel-salt flavour is extraordinary. Aged Gouda pairs excellently with dark beer, robust red wine, and honey. Smoked Gouda is a popular variant — mild, slightly sweet, with good melting properties for grilled dishes.