No. Not Gouda, not smoked Gouda. Aged Gouda. I’ve had regular Gouda, and its okay. Once, I thought smoked Gouda was the bomb, and to this day it’s the one I’ll pick on those catered cheese & fruit trays because it’s better than the chedder & pepper jack cubes.* And the brie on those cheese trays is always insipid. So, the smoked Gouda has its place.
But. Aged Gouda, which I had for the first time only a few years ago, is divine. It is crumbly and has this odd grittiness to it, which probably doesn’t sound appealing, but trust me, it is. It’s nutty with overtones of butterscotch and absolutely delicious. Gouda is traditionally made from cow’s milk.
To be honest, I have never focused on brands of aged Gouda, but I will look into it and provide a new post if I have particular recommendations. If you have particular recommendations, please let me know in the comments. In general, the longer it has aged (I’d go for 18 months at least) the stronger the flavor. And strong, for aged Gouda, is not the pungent kind of flavor that is stinky or makes you say “phneh” (which is good in some cheeses), but simply a stronger impact of the nutty, buttery flavor.
It can reliably be found at specialty cheese shops and also online.
*The cheddar is always mild on those trays & thus disappointing; pepper jack is for melting on things, it has a good blending taste, but is lacking the oomph necessary for a solo performance, in my not so humble opinion.
February 27, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I think the kind I cut at my Coop is black-waxed aged Monalisa. Is that a familiar brand to you? We all agree that it’s the only gouda worth savoring.
February 27, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I’ve actually never paid attention to the maker of the aged Gouda I’ve eaten (foolishly perhaps). We have a really good cheese shop in town (a small miracle in this otherwise food-benighted place) so I usually just ask the guy behind the counter. Now I have an excuse to do an aged Gouda tasting – can’t wait!
February 27, 2007 at 9:23 pm
If I got spam like that, I’d ask myself, “Why me? Why now?”
Quite impressive. The gods have something to say to you about gouda, Jolt.
February 28, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Yes, it was quite lengthy and detailed. When I saw the first line in the comments page I freaked for a moment. Quick skim to confirm its general insanity & I hit the spam button. I’m thinking it was from a fan of pepper jack cheese attacking me for my denigration of it as a blending cheese.
February 28, 2007 at 7:02 pm
You’ve given me a new ambition: I shall hunt down and eat some aged Gouda at the earliest opportunity.
March 2, 2007 at 9:04 pm
[…] crush is Jolt at Gangly Thoughts, who writes a lovely ode to Aged Gouda. Well, I know what I’m having for dinner. Then Monica Roberts at TransGriot had to go and […]
August 7, 2007 at 9:41 am
[…] cheeses I had was Smokey Oregon Blue. I’ve had smoked Gouda before, which is good, but as I’ve said before, not as good as aged Gouda. I’d never had smoked blue cheese so I thought I’d give […]