Gouda cheese: features, calorie and home cooking

Many gourmets, comparing French and Dutch cheeses on the subject of color shade, taste, aftertaste, confidently assert that the Dutch product causes more preference than its French counterpart. In the Dutch variety there is no sharpness in the flavor, its shell does not frighten consumers with a moldy surface, and the price is acceptable for most people. The most preferred cheese is Gouda.

Gouda is a hard cheese with a delicate creamy taste. In the classic process of its preparation, cow's milk is used, but many manufacturers use sheep or goat to produce it.

There is no reliable information about the time of appearance of Gouda. Some believe that the birth of this type of cheese is associated with the emergence of the same city in the territory of Holland. Others, on the contrary, claim that the city was named after this product. But despite this, in the city of Gouda, there is a tradition on Thursdays to hold a cheese fair, where every farmer puts up for sale his culinary delicacies.

French historians say that the first information about Goud is present in the records of the battles of Julius Caesar himself. More specifically, among the stories of military victories, you can find a description of the smell and taste of this culinary masterpiece. But to argue that it is precisely about Goud, it is impossible. Perhaps the records are about some other sort of cheese. Cheese factories on the territory of modern Holland arose in the distant past. Given this fact, then perhaps Julius Caesar really enjoyed real Gouda cheese in his famous campaign of the Gauls.

In the modern world, Gouda production is given special attention. One cheese head can be 6 or 12 kg. In the city of Gouda, for tasting tourists are offered special flat heads with rounded edges weighing 1.5 kg. They can be called mini-copies of the standard product. The color of the cheese depends on the time of exposure. The minimum time will make the product pale yellow, and when fully matured, the product acquires a bright orange tint.

Gouda cheese is a product not patented by Dutch farmers, so manufacturers from different countries can produce it. However, interchangeable ingredients are added to the composition of the manufactured product, due to which the taste of the finished product differs from the manufacturers. They also create different varieties, adding cumin, herbs, mustard and pepper. Production of cheese and in Russia is adjusted.

In Holland, farming is passed down from generation to generation; in the manufacturing process only whole cow milk is used. This variety is called "farmer".

Gouda has several varieties, each of which has a different aging period for the product:

• Jonge kaas - 4 weeks;
• Jong belegen - 9–10 weeks;
• Belegen - 17-18 weeks;
• Extra belegen - 7–10 months;
• Oude kaas - 10 months – 1 year;
• Overjarige kaas - the most restrained, aging period - from 18 months.

It is worth noting that the longer the curing time of Gouda, the sharper its taste, and the color tone is brighter and more saturated. As aging ripens, the consistency of the cheese becomes denser. The types of the famous Gouda cheese with a short period of time are notable for their tenderness of mass, creamy taste and a pale shade.

This product has a distinctive feature. A round seal is placed on the heads of industrial production, and a farm stamp is decorated with a rectangular stamp. Inside this print indicates the name of the finished product, the geographical location of production, the percentage of fat content and serial number. On the farm cheese, the list is supplemented with the manufacturer's personal data.

Production and farm cheeses have an additional difference - this is the outer crust. The farm production method requires the natural shell of the finished product. It should be a smooth yellow color, on its clean smooth surface there should be no gaps.

For industrial conditions used paraffin. The function of paraffin is to protect the finished cheese from drying out. In most countries, the surface of the finished product is coated with yellow paraffin. Manufacturers of the Canary Islands and the United States prefer paraffin in red. And only Overjarige kaas, with the highest durability, in all countries of the world is covered with black paraffin.

Due to its special taste and reasonable price, Gouda cheese has a high consumer demand in the world market. The quality of cheese allows you to use it not only as an addition to sandwiches or a snack - you can make a lot of delicious culinary masterpieces from it. Despite the hardness of this variety, Gouda is perfect for dishes baked in the oven. Pre-grated cheese is evenly distributed over the surface of the dish. When the heat of the oven is high, Gouda melts, forming a soft crispy crust.

Gouda is a dairy product that contains many essential minerals for the human body. It is enriched with micronutrients, such as iodine, calcium, phosphorus and many others. Vitamin complex in the composition of Gouda has a beneficial effect on the condition of human skin, strength of the nail plate, bone strength and improves vision. Regular consumption of this type of cheese affects the improvement of mental activity.

Those who watch their figure, it is necessary to limit the consumption of Gouda. Per 100 grams of the finished product nutritional value is 356 kcal, fat content ranges from 48-52%. But one should not categorically refuse to use this product. In addition to the fact that Gouda has many beneficial substances, it is also a high-quality source of proteins that athletes need so much. A composition of healthy fats is essential for girls.

The nutritional value of BUD cheese Gouda per 100 grams is:

squirrels - 27g;

fats - 25 g .;

carbohydrates - 2 g

Useful features of cheese directly depend on its composition. The presence of B vitamins has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system. Thanks to vitamin D, the body is the process of rapid absorption of trace elements. Regular consumption of cheese contributes to excellent health due to the normalization of metabolic processes and leveling the work of digestion.

In men who are engaged in physical work or sports, Gouda should be an integral part of the diet. With it, the recovery process is accelerated several times.

Before proceeding with the tasting, you should familiarize yourself with the harmful effects of the product. Gouda mature extract has a piquancy, which is absolutely contraindicated in renal diseases, the presence of gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers. Gouda cheese should not be used for edema. Contraindication to use is overweight. People suffering from this disease should take a closer look at low-fat cheeses. But for more detailed advice it is best to turn to a nutritionist.

With their own hands, each hostess can try to cook a cheese product for the joy of the household. According to the classical method of preparation, the basis of Gouda cheese is cow's whole milk, to which rennet is added. In the manufacture at home should not deviate from this rule.

For 16 liters of milk, 4 g of powdered calcium and rennet will be required. Brine and wax are also needed. From the specified number of products out 2 kg of Gouda. The flavor of the finished product depends entirely on the quality of the milk used. Boil it should not be.

The first step will be the preparation of milk fluid. At 16 liters, it is better to use a capacity of capacious sizes. Milk is required to be heated on the stove to 32 degrees and removed from the fire. A starter is poured into a pot of warm milk. It is strictly forbidden to immediately mix the mass in the tank. It is necessary to wait for the powder to get wet. Only after that the milk is stirred and left for half an hour.

After this time, it is required to add calcium chloride powder and rennet to the container. Pre-calcium powder is diluted in 50 ml of liquid. The mixture is re-mixed and left alone for 45 minutes. By the end of this time, whey and a small amount of cottage cheese mixture should form in the pan.

The second stage will be working with the resulting curd mass. It must be cut into cubes approximately 1.5 cm in size, mix them thoroughly and leave to breathe for 5 minutes. After the “rest”, the cottage cheese cubes should be stirred for 4-5 minutes, and then left again to “breathe” at the same time. After this procedure, a curd grain should appear at the bottom of the tank.

The next step requires high attention and concentration. 1.5 l of finished whey is drained from the tank. Instead, the usual warm water is poured in an amount equal to the amount of serum. Water temperature should be 65 degrees. The mass is thoroughly mixed and left for 5 minutes. After this short time, it is required to drain 5 liters of serum from the pan and pour 5 liters of warm water into the tank, but now the temperature is 47 degrees. The mass should be stirred for 20 minutes, and then defend 10 minutes.

Now comes the turn of the formation of the shape of the curd mass. A gauze fabric folded in four layers spreads onto a large sieve. In it the curd mix is ​​laid out for straining. After pressing the curd tightly through gauze, it is required to lay it out under a press. The first half hour weight of the press should be 4 kg. The next hour, the weight increases to 6 kg. The remaining two hours the pressure should be maximum - 8 kg.

The prepared base must be poured with saline solution (1 kg of salt is diluted in 4 liters of water) and left for 13-15 hours. During this period of time it is necessary to turn the head once. After the cheese has been taken out of the salt solution, it will need to be dried. It will take about 4-6 days.

The last stage is the surface treatment of Gouda homemade cheese. Liquid wax is poured on the finished head, and the cheese is sent for aging. Her term is chosen by the hostess herself, depending on the taste of the cheese.

View the process of making cheese Gouda can be in the video below.