Gouda
Gouda, first made in the vicinity of Gouda in the Province of South
Holland, Netherlands, is a semisoft to hard, sweet-curd cheese similar to
Edam except that it contains more fat. It is made from whole or partly
skimmed cow's milk, but skimmed less than milk used in making Edam.
Gouda usually is shaped like a flattened sphere and pressed in molds with
rounded ends. The molds vary in size but usually are nearly 14 inches in
diameter and 4 1/2 to 5 inches deep. The cheeses usually weigh between
10 and 25 pounds but may weigh as little as 6 or as much as 50 pounds.
Gouda is made also in a loaf weighing about 8 pounds. A so-called "baby
Gouda" is oval, weighs a pound or slightly less, may be coated with red
wax, and wrapped in a cellophane-type wrapper. The red surface is not
necessarily an identifying characteristic, however, as it is of domestic
and
im****ted Edam.
Gouda is made in much the same way as Edam. (See Edam.) Some
slight modifications in the details of manufacture are mentioned here.
Although the milk may be set at any temperature between 84 and 90 F.,
is usually is set at 90 F. After the curd is cut, the whey is drained off,
heated, and poured back into the vat. This procedure is repeated once or
twice, in order to increase the temperature of the curd to between 100 and
106 F. Other factors being equal, cheese made from curd heated to the
higher temperatures (within this range) will have a firmer body, will cure
more slowly, and will have better keeping quality. Some salt is added to
the curd before it is put into the hoops (molds) for pressing. Salting is
usually completed by immersing the cheese in a salt solution; however, it
may be completed in the curing room by rubbing dry salt on the cheese
daily for 7 to 10 days. The cheese cures in 2 to 3 months, but it
improves
in flavor if it is cured for 5 to 6 months.
About 12 1/2 pounds of uncured cheese can be made from 100 pounds of
whole milk, and about 8 pounds of cured cheese from 100 pounds of milk
containing from 3 to 3.5 percent of fat.
Analysis: Moisture, not more the 45 percent (usually 36 to 43.5 per-
cent); fat, 29 to 30.5 percent (not less than 46 percent in the solids);
protein, 25 to 26 percent; and salt, 1.5 to 2 percent.
USDA Handbook No. 54, Cheese Varieties and Descriptions
1953; George P. Sanders
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