Friday, March 19, 2010

Gouda Cheese

This winter I have run into more Gouda cheese than ever before in my life. Now keep in mind I was raised before the little cheese producers began popping up all over the place. In the old days, all you could find in the stores were cheddar, Swiss, and few other cheeses. In south Texas, forget the imported cheeses--after all Swiss was imported, even if it did come from Wisconsin--and no goat cheeses; only cheddar, Longhorn, Colby, and the Swiss were available.
Now in the supermarkets feta, blue cheeses, provolone, along with a whole bunch of others, from all over the world are stocked (even in the small towns). Small cheese producers live within easy driving distance and frequently their cheeses are sold in the supermarket you shop in.
Now the problem is we have too many choices. As I discovered in the last few months, a wide variety of cheeses are being made, and much of it from goat and sheep milk instead of cows. Also the types of cheeses can overwhelm the novice--like me.
Enter my encounter with Gouda cheeses. It has been a delightful experience and one I intend to pursue further, because the Gouda is a delightful mild, creamy taste experience. Instead of the slightly tart taste of cheddar, Gouda leaves a little buttery, and milky taste. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not about to give up cheddar for Gouda, but I have found a new best friend. With all the other cheeses around I will probably have to add many new friends in the months ahead, as I discover more about cheeses.

Have you any favorite cheeses we need to know about?

1 comment:

  1. Nancy Glynn23/3/10 8:28 PM

    Gouda has always been a fave around here - you're right about that smooth buttery flavor.

    ReplyDelete