HOLLAND, COW’S MILK
PERSONALITY: An old sweetheart, bejeweled and bedazzling—full of crystals.
This amber beauty has only been available in the United States for a few years, and already it’s become a much-requested dance partner. Look for its golden glow in the cheese case; the butterscotch paste and tiger-orange wrapper are distinct, and so are the snowy flecks of tyrosine that crunch between your teeth. These amino acid crystals, visible along the cut surface, evolve as the cheese ages over a two-year period.
L’Amuse Gouda is the specialty of a famous “Gouda midwife” named Betty Koster, who owns the L’Amuse Cheese Shop just outside of Amsterdam. Koster selects the wheels from a nearby cooperative, then uses her expertise to mature the wheels at a slightly warmer temperature than most caves, thereby creating a product all her own. You’ll taste burnt sugar, toasted nuts, even a little bacon. Simply glorious. No other Gouda tastes quite like this old queen.
Good matches: On a holiday cheese plate, pair this with nut brittle or a dish of shelled pistachios, toasted almonds, and dried cranberries. After dinner, serve L’Amuse with almond biscotti and dessert wine.
Wine/beer: Serve with Madeira, Amontillado sherry, or any wine with a raisiny quality. For beer, pick something toasty and malty.
HOLLAND, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: Think Pink Floyd on Gouda, sweet and psychedelic.
Midnight Moon doesn’t need a lot of introduction. If you like salt caramel, you’re done. If you’re a Cheddar head, you’re done. While this cheese is technically of the Gouda ilk, Midnight Moon exhibits more brown butter sweetness than most year-old wheels in this category. It’s dense and chewy, with little amino acid crystals that crunch pleasurably under your teeth.
Midnight Moon is made in Holland, then imported by cheese doyenne Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove (the mother of Humboldt Fog, page 74). People who claim to be goat-cheese averse rarely recognize that this baby comes from our bearded caprine friend. Be careful: it’s freakishly addictive. In 2002, it was awarded Best New Product at the Fancy Food Show.
Good matches: This is a great one for the cheese plate, especially alongside dried apricots, candied almonds or pecans, and green grapes. For dessert, try serving it alongside nut brittle.
Wine/beer: For a spectacular pairing, try Midnight Moon with Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch, a cross between mead and barleywine that is spiced with honey and saffron. It would also work with a stout or porter. Otherwise, try a jammy red or a dessert wine.
HOLLAND, RAW COW’S MILK
PERSONALITY: A Narnia-like Gouda that’s the stuff of legends.
Let’s talk about Jersey cows for a moment. Their high-fat milk makes beautiful butter and cheese. When that milk is left unpasteurized and when those Jerseys have been grass fed on organic pasture, the flavor and texture together are pretty much ideal. That’s the basis for Nylander (rhymes with “highlander”), a Gouda with so much TLC in its production that Di Bruno cheesemongers still wax poetic about particular wheels in the same way that sommeliers crow about vintages. Mention Nylander around cheesemonger Hunter Fike, and he’ll swoon. “Like cream and eggs, like sweet custard,” he’ll tell you, “but that was the first wheel. Let me tell you about the second wheel. . . .”
Tasting a cheese like Nylander against a commodity Gouda wrapped in wax is a good way to sense how a particular cheese style can vary. One is the result of careful artistry and land stewardship, the other comes about through mass production. Both can be satisfying in different situations, but there’s no doubt that they will differ in terms of complexity. Nylander, which is made by Otto Jan Bokma in north Holland, is nuanced—nutty-sweet and rustic with changing notes like switchbacks in a stream. It’s the kind of cheese you might see in a Dutch Master painting, rustic and ochre, lovingly rendered into a luminous moon.
Good matches: Eat this rare cheese straight up. A dish of unshelled nuts and some yellow apples are all you need.
Wine/beer: Because wheels of Nylander tend to vary, always taste a sample before you consider a pairing. A pint of stout or a glass of Madeira will probably serve you best.
UNITED STATES, RAW COW’S MILK
PERSONALITY: The locavore’s dreamboat, a big cheese from a tiny herd.
This beautiful aged Gouda from Lori Sollen-berger in central Pennsylvania is sharp and bright with just a twinge of caramel. It’s the kind of cheese you crave before bed or even for breakfast, alongside toast and coffee. The flavor notes swing low and savory, then bend into grassy sweetness. The striking golden color appears naturally, a sign that Lori pastures her Jerseys—since cows can’t digest beta carotene, it appears in the milk and, naturally, the cheese. A year of ageing concentrates the hue.
One thing that’s special about Hidden Hills’s Old Gold is that it comes from a small herd (at last count, Lori had eight cows). Most traditional Goudas come from dairy cooperatives in Holland where milk is mixed from many farms. The cheese can be excellent, but it’s a very different kind of experience from tasting a product made from a single set of cows. Because Lori knows her herd well, she tweaks her recipe to fit their production cycle. In this case, she uses only summer milk, when the grasses are the sweetest, and she adjusts her recipe to fit the changing complexity of her milk. If you try this cheese from one year to the next, or even from one wheel to the next, you can learn a great deal about nuance and terroir.
Good matches: Savor this cheese. Try to notice the flavors, how they swell and shift. If you add an accompaniment, keep it simple with some sliced apples or almonds.
Wine/beer: Tröeg’s Javahead Stout from Harrisburg, PA is the quintessential pairing here. Notes of oatmeal, cocoa, and coffee pick up on the subtlety of this cheese. Try a glass or Madeira or sherry.
HOLLAND, COW’S MILK
PERSONALITY: The Miss America of Goudastyle cheeses—big fIavor, wide appeal.
If the characters on Friends had hosted more cheese parties, you can be sure that Prima Donna would have become a household name. At Di Bruno Bros., this is one of the most requested wheels, and the reason is obvious. It’s a cheese that can dance, put on a one-piece and look gorgeous, and smile in an evening gown. No, really, it sparkles—those are little crystals of an amino acid called tyrosine—and you’re right, Prima Donna does taste like butterscotch candy! It’s also light on fat (38%), so it’s technically not even a Gouda, which requires 48% butterfat.
Prima Donna combines the flavor profiles of Gruyère and Parmigiano to play up the nutty, sugary notes that Americans tend to love. In Holland, it’s aged at least a year before it’s released, making for a cheese that’s almost as good as salt caramel. Is it as complex as some of the fine aged Goudas in this chapter? Perhaps not, but for an indulgence that’s light on fat and fairly easy on the wallet, this is a good cheese to keep in your stash.
Good matches: Before the game, after the game: Prima Donna with honey-roasted nuts.
Wine/beer: Pick a big red, like a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an exceptional cheese to pair with beer; try a saison or, for dessert, a coffee porter.
UNITED STATES, RAW COW’S MILK
PERSONALITY: A rumpled boyfriend with pear brandy on his breath and leaves stuck to his sweater.
If you’re the kind of person who spends a lot of time daydreaming about blue cheese or even a little time thinking about it, you need to know about Rogue River Creamery. The company hand-makes a dozen different blues, and this one is their grand champion. It’s THE cheese to buy if you need to impress a date or that person’s parents. It’s snow white and very pretty, first of all, and it’s wrapped in brandy-soaked grape leaves that have been harvested from the Rogue River Valley, just behind the creamery. This, my love, is one sweet-smelling and sweet-tasting cheese.
In 2011, Rogue River Blue won the equivalent of the cheese Oscars in the United States, so finding it can require a bit of a chase. I sense you like a chase, though, if you’re reading to this second paragraph. Now go tell a cheesemonger that your life depends on this cheese, and he or she will probably be able to scare up a secret hunk in the back. If you are offered another blue by Rogue River, specifically a wedge of Cave Man Blue or Rogue River Smokey (page 239), close your eyes and say yes.
Good matches: A cheese this good doesn’t need much to go with it. Treat it like a great Roquefort—which inspired Thomas Vella, the original cheesemaker who started Rogue River Creamery—and slice up a ripe pear. A dish of toasted walnuts is a nice foil.
Wine/beer: Give this puppy a nice big red: a juicy Cab or Syrah, or even a port. Weyer-bacher’s Blithering Idiot is an exquisite coupling, if you are not opposed to the sweet kick of a barleywine. Otherwise, grab a stout.