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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Netherlands, Denmark, northern Europe

Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template)Goudse kaas

Cow milk is set with a mesophilic starter and rennet, and the curd is cut and stirred. Part of the whey is then drawn off and replaced with warm water, which washes out milk sugar so the cheese sours less. The curd is pressed, brined and ripened on wooden boards for weeks to years. Made in 6 steps over 29 days. The longest step, coat and ripen on wooden boards, takes at least 28 days (RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) 2026) and runs at at least 12 °C (RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) 2026). Salt is 18 % (Decadt H 2025). Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and subsp. cremoris and Leuconostoc and Lactococcus lactis biovar diacetylactis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 28 daysSet[gouda-dossier]Coat and ripen on wooden boards
Temperatureat least 12 °CSet[gouda-dossier][decadt2025]Coat and ripen on wooden boards
Salt18 %Reported[decadt2025]Brine
Fully documentedCheese29 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFamily template, so the ingredients are the ones washed-curd cheeses share. The Gouda Holland dossier gives no amounts; the step values come from it and from one pilot-scale make.
Cow milk · Gouda Holland: Dutch milk, pasteurised at no less than 72 °C for 15 s[gouda-dossier]
Mesophilic starter · L-type or LD-type lactococci with Leuconostoc[gouda-dossier]
Rennet · Calf rennet, bovine pepsin or microbial rennet; not from GM organisms (Gouda Holland)[gouda-dossier]
Warm water · Replaces part of the whey to wash the curd[gouda-dossier][decadt2025]
Salt · As brine[gouda-dossier]
Coating · A coating that lets some moisture through is allowed[gouda-dossier]
Starter: mesophilic L-type or LD-type starter (lactococci, Leuconostoc)

Total time across the recorded steps: 29 days

Start
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30 °Cshapes, not to countLactococcus lactisLeuconostoc

What changes: Starter and rennet go into milk at about 30 °C and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Set the milk with starter and rennet
Time
35 min
Reported
Temperature
30 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Leuconostoc

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

the mesophilic starter begins souring the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Part of the whey is swapped for warm water before pressing. That washes out milk sugar, so the cheese sours less and stays sweeter and more supple than a cheddared or unwashed pressed curd.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Edam HollandLower fat (40–44 % in dry matter), ball or loaf shapes, often waxed red.
  • BoerenkaasFarmhouse Gouda from raw milk.
  • Leyden (Leidse kaas)Semi-skimmed milk with cumin seeds.
  • Havarti, DanboDanish washed-curd cheeses; some are smear-ripened.
  • Colby, Monterey JackUS washed or stirred curd; moist and briefly ripened.

Made the washed-curd cheese family way

Safety

Washed-curd cheeses are pressed and ripened for weeks to years. The UK NHS lists hard cheeses as safe in pregnancy and advises eating unpasteurised soft cheeses only when cooked until steaming hot. Gouda Holland is made from pasteurised milk.

Hazards the sources name: Butyric-acid bacteria (Clostridium) spores from the milk, which can blow the cheese late in ripening; Gouda Holland milk is tested for them.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Gouda is named after the Dutch market town where it was traded.

  1. [gouda-dossier] RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), Productdossier BGA Gouda Holland (PGI specification), 2026spec
  2. [edam-dossier] RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), Productdossier BGA Edam Holland (PGI specification), 2026spec
  3. [decadt2025] Decadt H., Weckx S., De Vuyst L. 2025, Application of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei and Tetragenococcus halophilus as adjunct starter cultures in Gouda cheese production, Frontiers in Microbiology 16:1719725paper
  4. [fao-ramet2001] Ramet J.P. 2001, The technology of making cheese from camel milk (Camelus dromedarius), FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 113, chapter on semi-hard washed-curd methodsbook
  5. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov