Gouda cheese

The Netherlands gives its name to Gouda cheese, the Dutch semi-hard cheese made from cow milk with a mild, buttery character that deepens with age. Wheels are usually coated with yellow wax for everyday ripening, while cheese matured for 18 months or more earns the black wax coat that signals long ageing and concentrated flavour. The wax seals in moisture and keeps moulds out. Grated, sliced or cubed, it is one of the world’s most exported cheeses. Young Gouda melts smoothly, while aged wheels turn firm and crystalline.