Gouda may sound like humdrum cheese, but think again. This pure, concentrated cow’s milk cheese from Holland is cave aged 18 months to an elegant perfection. The color and texture kinda look like a hunk of cheddar you forgot in the back of the fridge, and the producers kinda did that, except in an intentional, professionally-controlled environment. What emerges after its cave experience is a hard orange cheese with salty butterscotch, roasted nuttiness and crystallized crunchy bits of salt that melt into a creamy, meatiness on the tongue.
It’s these rich, flavorful elements that make this cheese pair beautifully with nutty, malty brown ales like Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale or Brooklyn Brown Ale.
$16.99 at Whole Foods Market
bought this Uniekaas Reserve today at Whole Foods. Eating it w/lemon stuffed olives & drinking a Shiner Bock. Ahh. This cheese is the bomb. The salty & nutty taste. I would NEVER have purchased it but WF had some cut up for tasting. It looked like Cheddar, as you said, but is SO MUCH BETTER.
I bought it today, too! I’m enjoying it with some spicy olives. Delicious! I wish I would have known about the beer pairing, I would have picked some up.
The great thing about Whole Foods is that they will let you sample any cheese. All you have to do is ask. I don’t get to go there too often but, each experience is a great one!!
So glad everyone is enjoys this cheese as much as I do. If you like that one, try the Beemster Aged Gouda too.
Great with a dry, strong red wine. Whole Foods manages to keep it moving around in the store, so I’m always wondering, “Who moved my cheese?”