Some time ago I mentioned the dutch book “Around artisan cheese” (a free transcription…) in a reply on a problem with bitter tasting cheese.
In that post I told that the book had a different approach for Baby Gouda cheese (1 kg and less) and bigger Gouda cheeses.
In a moment I will post a recipe extracted from that book for a 1 kg (2.2 lbs) Baby Gouda, but in the post here I want to tell something about the differences and the reasons why.
All is based upon what is wriiten in that book. First something about the book and it’s history:
It is a follow-up of a book that was first published in 1952 and only talked about the production of artisan Gouda cheese.
The versions that came out later (I saw a quit recent pdf as well) adepted also newer production methods, other kinds of cheesed like “Leidse” and also new regulations about sanity and food production.
The book is a coproduction of the “Union of artisan diaries” (also a free translation) and the Duth Food and Agriculture Administration.
According to the description in the book, there is a difference between Gouda cheese that is ment for aging (storage cheese) and the one that will be consumed earlier (consumer cheese), based on the weight:
The storage cheese will weight more than 15kg (33 lbs) and is able to age for more than 1 year. In the middle weight class (8 - 15kg, 17.5-33 lbs) you will find both consumer cheese as wel as storage cheese (which of course is ment to be consumed as well!)
Below 8kg it is all consumer cheese with a shorter ripening time, but in that section is also a distinction for Baby Gouda cheese (up to 1 kg 2.2 lbs).
What makes the difference:
First of all (and you see that also with wine and beer): The bigger the mass, the better is the chemical balance (at least more stable, presuming a good production).
Secondly, storage cheese is produced with a lower humidity of the curd which will develop a better taste over a longer period.
Also when you store a small Gouda cheese for a longer period and the curds contained a higher percentage moist, the rind will become too thick compared with the size of the cheese and there’s a bigger chance of developing a bitter taste and/or gasses.
The last defect I experienced myself…
An other thing that I don’t see anywhere else in recipes is the use of potassium nitrate (KN03) to prevent the development of gasses by coli-like bacteria (in the book called “early loose cheese”) or gassed formed by buteric acid bacteria (“late loose cheese”).
KNO3 seems to have an effect on the development and growth of lacto bacteria as well. In liquid form it is allowed (added before the rennet) 45ml/100 liter milk.
An other thing in the book that is really different from what I learned earlier is the pressing:
Kadova molds (the plastic molds with nets) have a good draining potential and make good rinds, so the pressing is shorter and with less weight.
Baby Gouda’s will only be pressed once, to prevent a rind that is too thick. When a second pressing is done with bigger Gouda’s and Kadova molds, the weight that is used in the second pressing will be less.
Wooden molds (not baby Gouda): twice the weight of the cheese for 1 hour, flip the cheese, 3-4 times the weight for a couple of hours, last time 5x the weight, total pressing time 5 or 6 hours.
Plastic molds with nets (Kadova, not baby Gouda): 4 times the weight for 45 minutes, flip the cheese, then press 2-3 hours with 1-2x the weight of the cheese.
For baby Gouda with a Kadova mold, see the recipe.
OK, two final remarks: I’m pretty sure this will give a lot of discussion, but hey, that’s what this forum is ment for and second: I have no experience yet with this approach.
This weekend I hope to make my first Cambozola, but I just bought some cumin, mustard seed and a mix called “greek herbs”, so different variations of baby Gouda will follow soon….
very good read, Thanks!!
Yes I noticed that years ago when I used to make 50gal batches of wine, the bigger the batch, the more equilibrium/stability their is (Same as a fish tank, as I look at my fish )
Lots of work in the Cambozola, great cheese yet I only made it once.
I def would not use Potassium Nitarate, anything that interferes with the natural enzymes will reduce the quality of the cheese.
The Gouda that I age for more then a year ended up tasting like a cheddar lol, very yummy, the transformation was surprising
Yea, I agree with Neil - older Gouda’s (at least mine) have quite a sharp taste. If a mild flavor is desired, you’re going to have to consume at 2 to 3 months.
In Holland, you can buy what is called “overjarige kaas” (or something similar to that, my Dutch is not so good). This is Gouda that is aged over 2 years. It has become a bit dry and crumbly with nice little sparkles of salt. And, its flavor is bit more sharp than the soft Gouda you typically see. This is one of my favorite cheeses. You can taste the concentrated curds and the salty bits are wonderful surprises in the mouth. Kind of like fireworks on the tongue.
You can find this in some cheese stores and duty free shops at airports, too.
@Neil: What was the weight of the cheese? Because I indeed noticed that my baby Gouda’s (2.2 lbs) become sometimes bitter and get a rind that is too thick when aged for more than 3 months…
@Rich: Yes, I prefer the sharper taste, but it isn’t supposed to be bitter. I intend to make better notes to be able to find out what the ideal process is for my situation and my taste…
@Rick: Yes, the “overjarige” is lovely, but all the artisan “overjarige” comes from wheels that are over 15 kg. The famous “Old Amsterdam” that tastes a lot like “overjarige”(which means: over aged) is a factory cheese that has aged for a shorter period and has some additions to boost up the taste. Unfortunately the biggest cheese that I can produce would be from 24 liters of milk (6.3 gallon)
That’s surprising! Under 2lb and aged more than a year? How did you seal it, what were the circumstances in the cave? What was the recipe? From what I read in the book, they suggest it’s almost impossible, but I certainly would like to give it a try. I love old cheese! Until now my experiences with aging baby Gouda for more than 3 months are not that good…
My gouda that I made was aged longer than 3 months and it turned bitter. It seems to match what Herman says, it was real moist, and turned bitter. I had vacuum sealed mine.
I appreciate the discussion Herman, it’s why I check this site all of the time. What everybody says adds to my cheese education. Thanks for taking the time to type all of that.
No problem Tammy, most of the typing was done during lunchtime at the office . Was at the cheese farm this morning to collect milk and they were busy with getting the 3kg wheels out of the presses, nice scene….
Made my first Cambozola today.
Well, back to the discussion: @Neil: I absolutely believe you when you describe the taste, however, from the images I would not recognize it as a Gouda, also not from the picture of the texture. Beware, I’m not saying you’re doing it wrong, but my personal goal with making Gouda is to make a product as close as possible to the product the cheese farms here make. Not the factory product, but the full and tasty farm stuff from raw milk.
When doing things from scratch and odds and ends, looks can be very different. if had the money I would buy a proper Mold for the shape. Since Im not selling it, shape does not matter much to me, all my early stuff was made with a cake spring form.
I also have not laid down specific methods for making specific cheeses, to a point, so cultures can change and temps pending temperament on the stove. we do what we can with what we got
As long as you enjoy what you make it’s all good. I would bet that I have never had the kind of cheese that Herman is referring to. The only non mass produced cheese I’ve ever had, I made. I would love to go to the cheese farm where Herman lives!
I have looked for cheese farms around here, but they are mostly all up in north. We are talking about riding our motorcycles to New York in the summer to see my son. Maybe I can hunt down a cheese farm along the route and stop and visit.
I’d like to go to one of those cheese festivals that I see on the internet too. Where you get to go to cheese farms around the area, and eat award winning cheeses, and go to the competitions.
I have got to get back to making cheese. I was working 6 days a week, and then I started sewing. Maybe next week my husband will go get me some raw milk so I can make a stirred curd cheddar. The raw milk swiss cheese was so good that I want to continue with the raw milk.
LOL, wow a cheese festival, that would be awesome. problem is it usually only happens in close nit farm communities like Europe, localized areas :(
Watching some of the Documentaries from Europe on food etc. can be depressing when one has no access to it. Saving up allot of money and do farm tours in Europe would be awesome.
I mentioned it before, anybody that can affort to buy DVD should buy “Cheese Slices” produced in Australia, he travels the world looking for cheese.
Cheese festivals is something I never heard of and I will have to google later on “close nit farm communities” means (lol). Although I have access to a couple of dutch webshops that sell stuff for cheesemaking, looking at the webshops for second hand stuff (eBay like websites), it surprises me that not much is to be found there on cheesemaking. OK, I bought a big cheeseknife there and some molds, but it is only once in a while that you find something. So I was under the impression that the cheese making community was much more alive in the english speaking countries….
By the way, 3 months ago I was afraid I messed up the 2 baby Gouda’s I made, by pressing them too lightly (and putting them in a brine that was too warm).
I opened the second one yesterday after 3 month in the cave: Very good texture, very good taste and smell and (proving was was told in the book?) a surprisingly thin rind (which of course was plastic coated by me )
Next time I will allow the second one to age much longer….
Did you post that baby gouda recipe somewhere? I’d like to see that. I will check the recipe portion of the site after I type this.
I have seen cheese festivals on the internet in New York, California, Wisconsin and Seattle. I read all of the details for one, and it said that you could buy different types of tickets. If you bought one level of ticket, you could go on cheese farm tours on Friday, where they served you samples and lunch, and then Friday night they had chef’s serving dinner with made with local cheeses, and on Saturday they had the usual festival stuff going on serving cheese with everything, and after the cheese judging was over you could buy some of the top 10 cheeses or something like that. When you entered the cheese you had to provide enough individually packaged ones to sell, they had a minimum amount that you had to send.
I thought it sounded like fun, but I couldn’t go.
I am going to look into the video’s, Cheese Slices. I also saw one called “The Cheese Nun” that I considered buying, but I haven’t done it.
and second: I have no experience yet with this approach. 
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