Article - US CheeseReporter.com: Gouda, Edam And Other Washed Curd Cheese

[Cheese Head]

Found a nice 2002 article on washed curd cheeses posted at CheeseReporter.com, in summary:

• Gouda and Edam are the original washed curd cheeses and originated in The Netherlands.
• Washed curd cheeses are called "sweet" cheeses by cheese makers as "sweet" is a term used to describe the body of the cheese with good flexibility, however, they are also slightly sweet in taste.
• Washed cheeses are unique as heat is added to the curds and whey not by heating the vat, but directly by removing whey and adding hot water.
• This method effects the cheese in several ways such as 1) mild in flavor, 2) stable and slow to age over time (compared to many other cheeses), 3) sweet in body and texture, 4) frequently have small eyes, and 5) have distinct functional attributes such as melt characteristics.
• The process has been adopted in other European countries resulting in for example Havarti & Danbo in Denmark & Fontina in Sweden.
• Not all the washed curd cheeses are pressed, some lightly and some like Edam and Gouda the most but, compared to Cheddar they are pressed much more lightly.
• Washed curd cheeses are well suited to rinded applications, because they form close knit and chemically tight rind, and thus are easier to age.
• Some washed curd cheeses like Gouda include a pre-pressing of the curds in the whey. Without this step, such as with Traditional Dutch Farmstead operations or the production of Havarti, open textured cheese is the result.
• Washing the curds also results in a chemical change, such as the retention of enzymes such as chymosin (from rennet) and the mineral content of the cheese, which are directly responsible for differences in body and texture.
• Washed curd cheeses are brine salted, which may be the largest reason they are not adopted in the new world as brining has traditionally required a great deal of space, adding to cost, and additional time and labor; brining a 20 pound wheel may take three to four days, a 3 pound ball shaped cheese about 30 hours.

[DeejayDebi]

Very nice and informative article John. Thanks!

[Cheese Head]

I sent the author an email, hoping he will respond.

[DeejayDebi]

Maybe he'll join the group ... 

[Cheese Head]

Got an email failed message so that address must be no good.

[DeejayDebi]

Maybe he got to many emails because of the article?

[Cheese Head]

Probably too many Spam emails from have his email address visable and thus harvested by spam bots.

[DeejayDebi]

Yeah that true. There's way to many spammers out there.