From USDA Handbook No. 54, 1953
Edam
Edam cheese was first made in the vicinity of Edam in the Province of
North Holland, Netherlands. It is known in the Netherlands by various
local names, such as Manbollen, Katzenkopf, and Tete de Maure. Like
Gouda, it is a semisoft to hard, sweet-curd cheese made from cow's milk.
Originally it was made from whole milk but now the fat content of the
milk is usually reduced to about 2.5 percent. When the cheese is made for
ex****t, the fat content is indicated on the label, according to Govern-
ment specifications. Edam is made also in the United States.
Edam has a pleasingly mild, clean, sometimes salty, flavor and a rather
firm and crumbly body, free of holes and openings. It usually is shaped
like a flattened ball, but in the United States it is made also in a loaf
shape.
The cheeses usually weigh from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds but sometimes weigh
as
much as 14 pounds. In the United States, they sometimes weigh only
about 3/4 to 1 pound.
High-quality milk should be used in making Edam; if the milk is pas-
teurized, as is common in the United States, lactic starter is added.
Color
may be added and the milk is set with rennet extract. About 15 minutes
later the curd is cut into 3/8-inch cubes, then stirred and heated to a
tem-
perature of 90 to 95 F. When the curd is sufficiently firm, part of the
whey is drained off. When enough whey has drained so that the curd is
exposed, the curd is pushed to the side of the vat and more whey pressed
out. The curd is stirred and may be salted. The temperature of the curd
should be at least 88 F when it is put into the molds for pressing.
Special pressing molds, preferably metal but sometimes hardwood and
lined with cheesecloth, are used. Each has a round lower section about
6 inches deep and 6 inches in diameter, with holes in the bottom for
drain-
age, and a round cover. In the United States the cheese sometimes is
pressed in rectangular loaf-shaped molds.
The molds are filled with curd, covered, and then pressed for about 30
minutes with a pressure of 20 to 30 pounds. Then the cheeses are removed
from the molds and dipped in warm whey (at a temperature of 125 to
130 F.). The rough edges of curd are trimmed off, and the cheeses are
bandaged and again pressed for 6 to 12 hours with a pressure of 60 to 120
pounds.
The cheeses then are rubbed with fine salt and placed in salt in special
salting molds that are the same shape as the pressing molds but have no
covers. Salting is continued for 5 or 6 days, and the cheeses are turned
daily. In the United States, and less commonly in the Netherlands, the
cheeses are salted by immersion in a salting bath for about a week;
however,
dry salting is preferable as it aids in producing a smooth rind.
The cheeses are scrubbed with a brush in warm water or whey, wiped
dry, and then cured on shelves at a temperature of 50 to 60 F. and a
relative humidity of 80 to 90 percent. They are piled in layers on the
shelves to aid in flattening the top and bottom surfaces. They are
washed,
dried, and turned daily for a week or two, then less frequently. In some
factories they are washed in a churn-like machine, and the surfaces may
be smoothed by rotating the cheese in a machine that resembles a lathe.
In the Netherlands, cheese for ex****t is colored red, rubbed with oil,
and wrapped in some transparent material; the red coating is an identify-
ing characteristic of Edam cheese. However, cheese made for consumption
within that country is rubbed with oil, but not colored.
In the United States, Edam cheese is covered with red paraffin or some
other tightly adhering red coating.
The cheeses are packed usually 8 to 12 in a box; for ex****t to warm
climates they may be sealed in tins. Between 8 and 9 pounds of cured
cheese is obtained per 100 pounds of milk.
Analysis: Moisture, not mroe than 45 percent (usually 35 to 38 percent);
fat, 26.5 to 29.5 percent (not less than 40 percent in the solids);
protein,
27 to 29 percent; and salt, 1.6 to 2 percent.
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