About Cheese
Cheese is a craft product. The preparation is largely a craft. Devotion, feeling for the cheese and very clean work are necessary to obtain a tasty cheese. Characteristic of cheese is the variety in flavor and taste. This variety is just one of the characteristic features, which gives the product special charm. Cheese is anything but a standardized unit product. As per the cheese farm, the differences in feed, soil type, grass, recipe and preparation are tested. Seasonally, the taste of Cheese also varies. Precisely because Cheese is prepared so pure and craftily, the differences in feed per season are emphatically noticeable in the taste of the cheese.
If you talk about key words that are very specific to cheese, that’s authenticity, craftiness, authenticity, tradition, taste and enjoyment.
Young Mature Cheese is one of the best known and certainly longest existing specialty cheeses in the Netherlands. The quality of Dutch Cheese has been highly regarded nationally and internationally for many years. That’s exactly what makes the taste of farm cheese so rich, powerful and unique, along with the traditional preparation.
About Milk
The milk used for Cheese is actually the same basic ingredient as being used for the famous dutch high quality baby milk powder.
About Cheese Age
Cheeses have different indications for the age. We know the term Young (Jong), Mature (Belegen) or Old (Oud). Depending on the time a cheese has ripened, he gets an age indication. Young cheese has only ripened for a few weeks, but Old cheese for a minimum of 10 months.
Most Dutch cheeses must mature at least four weeks in a warehouse. Maturing is necessary to get the cheese to its own taste. Also, the cheeses are regularly turned so that they stay beautiful.
- Jonge kaas – 4 weken
- Jong belegen – 8 tot 10 weken
- Belegen – 16 tot 18 weken
- Extra belegen – 7 tot 8 maanden
- Oude kaas – 10 tot 12 maanden
- Overjarige kaas – 18 maanden of meer
During ripening, the crust becomes firm and draws the salt into the cheese. The longer the cheese rips, the drier and more taste-intense it becomes.
About Nutrients
Cheese contains important nutrients such as fat, protein, lime (calcium) and vitamins.
- Fat is one of the most important cheeses of cheese. The fat content of cheese is expressed as a percentage of the dry matter because it remains constant during ripening. Due to evaporation, the amount of moisture decreases.
Gouda cheese has a minimum of 48 percent fat in the dry matter. Over all cheese, the fat content of young Gouda (four weeks ripened) is 28.8 percent. At Edammer (40 percent fat in dry matter) this is about 25 percent. - Protein is an important nutrient in cheese: 24 grams per 100 grams of Gouda cheese. Milk proteins in cheese are similar in nutrition to proteins in meat. Therefore cheese can serve as a meat substitute in the (vegetarian) meal.
- Calcium
Calcium (lime) is – in addition to phosphorus and sodium – one of the most important minerals in cheese. For example, 100 grams of Gouda cheese contains 785 milligrams of calcium. This is virtually the daily amount required for the average Dutchman. - Vitamins
Cheese contains B vitamins and the vitamins A and D. present in the fat.
20+ / 48+ indicates the fat percentage of the cheese, expressed as a percentage of the dry matter, because it remains constant during maturation (as opposed to the moisture rate that decreases during ripening).
How to save Cheese
- All Dutch cheeses are coated with a coating: a protective layer that stops bacteria and dirt and prevents drying out. A cut piece of cheese does not have this layer and is therefore more prone to decay or mold. This occurs when the cheese is exposed to light, air and temperature. You can therefore store the best in the special cheese paper in the vegetable salad of your fridge or in the basement (a cool dark place). Also a sealed cheese box can serve.
- Never pack cheese completely airtight. The cheese then sweats and loses its shelf life and taste.
- The taste of cheese is best when you take it out of the fridge for half an hour.
- Do not store foreign cheeses in one bowl of Dutch cheeses.
Blue-grained cheeses can be packed well. The fungus spreads quickly, not just on other cheeses, but about all the food in the neighborhood - Do not store cheese near other highly fragrant foods. Cheese breathes and quickly absorbs the scents.