Gouda Cheese: Best Chased with Beer
Sep 10th, 2010 by fashion reporter
A great shift in the traditional wine and cheese pairing is happening today. The supremacy of wine as the cheese pairing beverage of choice has faded and today, Americans are holding beer mugs instead of wine glasses.
Let’s say you went home one day and decided to join the shift and bought some beer. Looking at your beer, you want to find the best cheese that you can pair it with. You have two options for this scenario: first, you can go and specifically choose the right type of cheese for the right kind of beer. Or second, you can simply buy the cheese that goes perfectly with almost any kind of beer. If you are the type of person who does not have the time going through the details, then perhaps the latter option is the one you should take. As you start your beer and cheese pairing endeavor, start with Gouda Cheese. Why? With Gouda cheese, you can’t go wrong.
Just like balloon skirts, politics, and diets, a number of cheeses go in and out of fashion. That includes The Netherland’s popular cheese Gouda, which has felt a slight decline in its reputation in the past few years. Cheese experts find Gouda cheese bland, with a texture ideal for teething babies, and has not character whatsoever. But before your turn your back on this sweet little yellow cheese, take the time to get to know the wonders of Gouda cheese first.
Gouda cheeses are indeed mild in flavor, having a smooth and butter texture. However, that depends on how long it has been aged. You see, the shorter time the cheese is ripened, the softer and the creamier the cheese will be. Purist cheese experts frown upon young Goudas, but they look up to the more mature members of the clan. Just like any other aged cheese, aged Gouda has a harder and firmer texture than young Gouda, almost the same as Parmigiano Reggiano. Its complex flavor tastes somewhere between an intense butterscotch caramel, salty but learning on the sweeter side. In general, Gouda cheese is described as having a caramelized, toffee-like taste.
This rare combination of sweetness makes Gouda the best pair for any beer. Actually, beer is the most ideal complement for cheese in several cultures across the globe. Actually, beer is the de facto complement for cheese in several cultures all around the world. When you come to think of it, cheese and beer practically grew up together on the farm and the grain used to make beer is almost all the time the same as that which is fed to milk-animals that produce cheese. On top of that, the flavors of beer and cheese that earthly, yeasty, musty, fruity, rich and floral taste jives in such a way that wine and cheese cannot.
Gouda cheese is known for its salty-sweet, nutty, and sharp taste. What better way to chase this flavorful cheese with a refreshing swill of Ale? Invite your friends for a few bottles and get Gouda cheese today!
What are you waiting for, buy Gouda cheese at your favorite cheese shop.
