Gouda

Gouda is a family of yellow cow's milk cheeses from the Netherlands, named for the South Holland city of Gouda where it was historically traded during the Middle Ages, ranging in character from young and elastic to old and hard and from low-fat to high-fat. It is made as a washed-curd cheese, with cultured milk curdled, the whey drained, and water added, before the curds are pressed into circular molds, brined for flavor, and aged anywhere from one to thirty-six months; Dutch producers sort maturity into six grades, from young at four weeks to very old at twelve to twenty-one months. The name Gouda itself is not protected and is used generically worldwide for similar cheeses, but specific Dutch designations, Boerenkaas, Noord-Hollandse Gouda and Gouda Holland, hold European Union protected status requiring production in the Netherlands from Dutch cow's milk.