🧀 Gouda

Gouda is a semi-hard aged cow's milk cheese named after a Dutch town, and it is the Netherlands' main cheese: in 2024 the country made 971,000 tonnes of cheese, mostly Gouda. The Codex pictures it as near white to yellow with small holes, shaped as a flattened cylinder with convex sides, a block or a loaf, under a dry rind that may be coated.

The name on its own says nothing about origin. In the EU the word is free, so a cheese from any country may carry it. Only two names are protected: Gouda Holland (PGI) and Noord-Hollandse Gouda (PDO), the less salty of the two.

The label tells you how old the cheese is. Jong means at least 4 weeks, belegen 4 months, oud 10 months and overjarig more than a year, while “48+” stands for 48% fat in dry matter. A whole wheel of Gouda Holland also carries a casein mark with its own code, applied before pressing.

Gouda Holland follows a tighter recipe. A wheel weighs 2.5–20 kg, with 48–52% fat in dry matter and at most 42.5% moisture. The milk is pasteurised at 72 °C for 15 seconds, ripening in foil is banned, and cumin may go into the curd.

Why a town's name? In 1395 Gouda acquired the right to sell cheese in the county of Holland, and farmers could trade only at its market. Production later spread across the country, and in the 20th century Gouda became a national product.

Frequently asked questions

Facts

Cheese

Gouda belongs to semi-hard cheeses. It is made from cow's milk: the curd is cut, part of the whey is replaced with warm water (which makes the cheese milder and sweeter), the curd is pressed into round wheels, brined and then ripened on shelves from a few weeks to a year or more. Young Gouda is soft and creamy; aged Gouda is firm, with a caramel taste and crystals. Gouda Holland is a PGI and Noord-Hollandse Gouda a PDO. Tip: slice young Gouda for sandwiches and serve aged Gouda on a cheese board.

Composition per 100 g

How it connects to milk

🧀 Gouda → made from → 🥛 Cow's milk → type of → 🥛 Milk

How it connects to Cheese

🧀 Gouda → kind of → 🧀 Cheese

Links

Guides

• How to Read a German Cheese Label: Fett i. Tr., Doppelrahmstufe

What to read next

• 🌍 Western Europe — France, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg: a mild, moist climate, pastures and hundreds of cheeses such as Roquefort, Camembert, Gouda and Cheddar.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Dutch — West Germanic people, the main population of the Netherlands in Western Europe; their Gouda and Edam cheeses are known worldwide.
• 🧀 Edam — A firm, semi-hard ripened cheese from cows' or buffaloes' milk, spherical, flat block or loaf, with few small round holes.
• 🧪 Milk fat — ~3.5% in cow's milk.
• 🏺 Traditional dairy products — Products made for centuries to folk recipes: fermenting, cheesemaking, slow baking, drying. Tied to regions and peoples.

Similar

🧀 Camembert · 🧀 Cheddar · 🧀 Monterey Jack · 🧶 Oaxaca cheese · 🧀 Queso fresco · 🟫 Brunost

ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.

What it includes

Sources

• EUR-Lex — Commission Regulation (EU) No 1122/2010: Gouda Holland (PGI)
• Single document «Gouda Holland» (PGI), NL-PGI-0105-01335, OJ C 310, 19.9.2015
• Single document «Noord-Hollandse Gouda» (PDO), OJ C/2024/3414
• FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius. Milk and milk products, 2nd ed. (2011): CXS 263 Cheddar, 266 Gouda, 276 Camembert, 281 Evaporated milks, 282 Sweetened condensed milks
• Voedingscentrum (Netherlands Nutrition Centre) — Kaas
• VVV Gouda — Gouda Kaasmarkt
• European Commission — Gouda Holland PGI / Noord-Hollandse Gouda PDO
• OJ C 339, 2019 — Gouda Holland (PGI), single document
• Vakblad Voedingsindustrie — Zuivel in Cijfers 2024 (ZuivelNL)
• USDA FoodData Central — Cheese, gouda (FDC 171241)
• NHS — Foods to avoid in pregnancy

Also listed under

• Milk › Dairy products › Cheese
• Cheese › Dutch cheeses