gouda, the traditional Dutch cheese

In Gouda (Netherlands), every Thursday morning, the cheese market is held. According to tradition, farmers and buyers clap their hands to find an agreement on the price. The 700-year-old town market attracts around 100 tourists a week. “I knew a little about the story. But to see how it worked, it’s very nice”says a man. “On a day like today, I think we want 200 to 300 kilos”says Leo Versluis, a cheesemaker.

The Dutch flock to a shop in the city, an institution for 130 years, which sells raw milk cheeses that have nothing to do with industrial Gouda. Produced in the west of the country, gouda is a cow’s milk cheese. The milk is curdled and then transferred to make 22 kilo wheels. “We put the fresh cheese in these wooden millstones. And now we’re going to press it for four hours”explains Marije Van der Poel, a farmer.