A Cheesy Topic

Yep, we have cheese in the States, but the choice is rather limited. How so?? Ok, here is why; being from the Netherlands myself, I am used to a wide variety of cheeses. For those of you who have visited Europe, you probably already are familiar with the extensive choice in cheeses and even sandwich meats.

Gouda, Edammer, Leerdammer, Zaanlander, Limburger, Maaslander, Kernhem, Cummin cheese, smoked cheeses, cheese spreads and goat cheeses are just some of the cheeses made and sold in the Netherlands. Add to it all the imported French, Swiss and Italian cheeses and you have a rich assortment to choose from.

And if that is not enough, there is a choice of what age of cheese you would like. The cheeses are stored in warehouses until they are ready to be sold. You have the following choices:

•Young cheese: sold after aging for about 4-5 weeks
•Young aged cheese: aged for 2 months
•Aged cheese: 4 months old
•Extra aged cheese: 7-8 months old
•Old cheese: over 1 year old

The difference is in texture and taste. Young cheese has a very mild taste. The older the cheese, the sharper and saltier the taste is and the color varies from light yellow for young, to slightly orange for old.

It is sold in slices, shredded, as cubes, or pieces in all kinds of sizes. No wonder the Dutch are also referred to as "Cheeseheads", haha.
Don't hesitate to try sample some of them while being overseas. With so much diversity it's highly unlikely you won't find one to tickle your taste-buds and/or to develop a preference for.