1. A Basic Dutch cheese in the Style of a
Gouda: Compare & Contrast of the
Terroir
Lastrup Gouda & Weissenthal Gouda
Fig.1 Cheese; from the Theatrum Sanitatis, Library Casanatense, Rome1.
A Note on Gouda Cheese: In reference to historical context I can document that the town
of Gouda made a cheese, had a cheese market, and exported cheeses. To date I have not
found any written period sources that actually talk about how Gouda cheese was made.
Now with that said this cheese is a Gouda Style due to the fact it is a washed curd cheese
similar to what we call Gouda today. Edam is also a washed curd cheese and dates to the
12th century.2 So it is very possible that the cheese being made in the town of Gouda was
also a washed curd cheese of some type.
1
Fig.137. Cheese; from the Theatrum Sanitatis, Library Casanatense, Rome, http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/foods/foods.html
2
After Cheese comes nothing, Nov. 30, 2008, Cheese History, http://aftercheese.wordpress.com/category/cheese-history
1

2. Note the Cheese rounds
aging on the shelf and/or air
drying.
I would also like you to
notice the tray on the table
that the cheese is being
worked in and reference
pictures on page 23.
Collecting the Whey for a
secondary use.
Fig.2. Cheese manufacture, 1390-1400, Illustration from "Tacuinum Sanitatis", illuminated medical manual
based on texts translated from Arabic into Latin, in the collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.3
Dutch History
4
Element from painting c.1550 titled ‘Market
Scene’, notice the rounds of cheese, and milk. Painted by AERTSEN, Pieter Flemish painter (b. 1508,
Amsterdam, d. 1575, Amsterdam).
3
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, http://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/1276116.jpg
4
Market Scene, c. 1550, AERTSEN, Pieter Flemish painter (b. 1508, Amsterdam, d. 1575, Amsterdam), in the Alte Pinakothek,
Munich
2

3. The city of Alkmaar in the Netherlands has had a cheese weighing house documented as
early as 1365. Some of the oldest "ordinance on the cheese bearers" dates from June 17th,
1593.5 The Cheese Carriers Guild has many traditions and rules stemming from the long
history of making cheeses in the Netherlands. Types of Dutch cheese’s include Gouda,
Edam, Maasdammer, Boerenkaas (literally, farmer cheese), Goat Cheese’s, Frisian clove
cheese, Leidse, Dutch blue cheese, and Herb Cheese.6
7
An element from a Dutch
still life showing items that
were staples of the Dutch
diet, depicted here are three
styles of Dutch cheese the
larger one in the back and
on the bottom are similar in
style and texture to Gouda.
Notice the rinds that are
clearly visible.
Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, Clara Peeters (Holland, Belgium, circa 1594 - before
1657) circa 1625 Painting, (M.2003.108.8), Ahmanson Building Room 321
8
A detail from ‘Peasants by the Hearth’, c. 1560’s, currently hung in the
Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp. Again the cheese pictured here have the look and shape of a
Gouda style cheese.
5
The Alkmaar Cheese Market, http://www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/cheesmarket.html
6
Coquinaria, Christianne Muusers, http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/making_cheese/gouda_cheese.htm
7
Breakfast Still-life with Bread, Cheese and Cherries, Clara Peeters, http://arthistoryblogger.blogspot.com/2011/06/history-as-seen-
through-dutch-still.html
8
Peasants by the Hearth, 1560’s, Museum Mayer von den Bergh, Antwerp
3

4. 9
A detail from ‘Laid Table’, c.1622, private collection, even though
this particular painting is out of our time period the cheese represented remain similar to those pictured
above.
Some Gouda Style
Cheese was made
from Goat Milk,
Cow Milk or a
combination of both.
What I also find
interesting about this
illumination is that is
show’s many types
of animals that were
milked as well, goat,
sheep, cow, and
donkey.
Fig. 3 M.1001, 48r, Miniature:
”Within fence, in lower left corner, woman, supporting herself with staff, stands in doorway of building
behind second woman, seated, milking goat beside sheepcote within which is flock of sheep.”10
9
Laid Table, c.1622, private collection, oil on wood
10
Corsair Online Research Resource of the Pierpont Morgan Library, M.1001, 48r, Miniature: Shepherds: Annunciation,
http://utu.morganlibrary.org
4

5. According to Matters of taste: food and drink in seventeenth-century Dutch art and life
by Donna R. Barnes and Peter G. Rose of the Albany Institute of History and Art
“…milk was also preserved as butter and as the less perishable cheese. In both of
the Low Countries, unlike other parts of Europe, butter rather than oil was used to
coat the outside of some of the cheese to help seal and preserve them while aging.
Several varieties of cheese, made from both cows and sheep milk were being
manufactured as early as the 14th & 15th centuries. Cheese was usually named for
the place where is originated, the Netherlands is still known for its Gouda and Edam
cheeses. Gouda cheese is made from milk with cream, Edam style cheese is made
from skimmed milk….)11
Time Line for Dutch cheese12
year (city) event
(Fiesland, North of the Netherlands) pots and vessels discovered that indicated
2 B.C. that cheese was being made there
586 A.D. Gouda cheese sent to Charlemagne
1100 A.D. (Koblenz, Germany) Dutch bargemen paid their toll in cheese
1266 A.D. (City of Haarlem) Obtained the right to hold a Dairy Market
1303 A.D. (Leyden) Obtained the right to hold a Dairy Market
1326 A.D. (Oudewater) Started holding their Dairy Market
1365 A.D. (Alkmaar) Started holding their Dairy Market
1426 A.D.
(starting in) (Rotterdam) the Profession of "Caescoper" (Cheesemonger) was mentioned
(Middle (Alkmaar, Gouda, Edam, Hoorn) Four of the Cheese Markets in operation during
Ages) the Middle Ages
Dutch cheese markets 13
Setting:
I am using a setting as if these cheeses were being served on a wealthy persons table. The reason
for this is that these cheeses have been aging since last August & September. During this time
period cheeses aged this long would only have been served by the wealthy.
On wealthy tables the cheese would have been served on a number of different styles of dishes.
They included metal (pewter or silver I am not sure from the images), ceramic, and wood (wood
was more likely used by the working class, or in a more rustic setting). I have again resorted to
using images form the Dutch Still Life paintings of the late 16th and early 17th century. These
tended to reflect a realism that can not be found in earlier period images. I am therefore choosing
to use colorful ceramic plates to show case these cheeses.
11
Barnes, Donna R. & Rose, Peter G., Matters of taste: food and drink in seventeenth-century Dutch art and life, Syracuse University
Press, 2002, pg. 18
12
Haris Amin, Dutch Cheese, Published on January 27, 2010 in Food, http://quazen.com/recreation/food/dutch-cheese
13
The Alkmaar Cheese Market, a tradition since 1593, http://www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/cheesmarket.html
5

6. Sliced cheese in a
pretty ceramic
bowl, rounds of
cheese on a metal
plate.
Again the cheese appears to be on a metal plate
due to the reflection cast by the cheese.
Here the round appears to be on
a metal plate and the sliced cheese in a ceramic bowl.
Here the cheese appears to be on a wooden plate due to no
reflection and the color & texture of the plate.
Embossing the Cheese:
6

7. Imprinting or embossing cheeses during the middle ages allowed the cheese to be
identified by its type, where it was made, or who made it. One of my Gouda Cheeses is
embossed with the image of Saint Nicholas. I choose to use this image for several
reasons, first I found this roundel as a second at an SCA event and it was made of the
correct wood to be used in cheese making (Maple). Secondly I am a Byzantine Catholic
and this style of imagery is very much in keeping with my faith and my SCA persona of a
Cistercian Nun.
14
Fig. 6 “Skahppo, Lulesamisk osteform”, Cheese Mould
National Historical Museum, Sweden Photo Stream.
14
National Historical Museum, Sweden Photo Stream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/28772513@N07/5264101891/in/faves-historiska
7

8. Here is an example of a
cheese being embossed
with a Cross shape. An
Emboss could identify the
maker, the town, the
Abby, or the type of
cheese.
15
Fig. 5 M.81, 47r, 1) Bestiary: Mouse --
Mouse nibbles one of two cheeses decorated with cross-shaped cuts, within medallion.
2) Bestiary: Mole -- Mole, within medallion.
16
Fig. 7 Cheese moulds with Saint
John’s Arms motif, seen in the Finnish National Museum, Helsinki
15
Corsair Online Research Resource of the Pierpont Morgan Library, M.87 47r, Bestiary http://utu.morganlibrary.org
16
Finnish National Museum, Helsinki, Cheese moulds
8

9. Dairy Information
The milk for this project was Raw Whole Milk from Indiana & Minnesota (normally I
use all Raw Whole Cows Milk. Raw whole milk only needs to be low temperature
pasteurized if the cheese is going to be aged less than 60 days). The Raw milk came
from free range Short Horn Milking Cows, Holsteins, and Brown Swiss Crosses breeds
known in the middle ages.
• Short Horn Milking: Milk Fat Content 3.8%, Milk Protein 3.3~3.5%.17
• Brown Swiss: Milk Fat Content 4.0%, Milk Protein 3.52%.18
• Holsteins: Milk Fat Content 3.66%, Milk Protein 3.15%.19
According to Neil Moralee the components in milk responsible for a good flavor profile
are namely the Fat in the milk helps to produce flavor, aroma and body in mature cheese.
He goes on to state that cheese made from skimmed milk is hard in body and texture, and
lacks flavor. Even if milk only has a small amount of fat (as low as 1%) it can produce a
noticeable background flavor. Protein the second component of milk comes in two forms
in milk as a suspension/colloidal (casein) and in a soluble form (whey proteins). A third
component of the flavor profile of cheese are lipases, proteases and lactase Enzymes that
hydrolyze the fat, protein and lactose respectively into different components. “In this
case, these enzymes, which occur naturally in the milk or which are sometimes supplied
by the indigenous bacteria in the milk and the added starter culture, can change the milk
fats and proteins in the process of ripening the cheese to produce the delicate flavors and
aromas that make mature cheese so enjoyable.” Lactose is the fourth flavor component
the main sugar in cow milk.”20 Without any of these the flavor of the cheese would
suffer.
17
Milking Shorthorns – An Efficient Dairy Alternative, http://www.cmss.on.ca/breed.php
18
Brown Swiss, http://brownswiss.org.nz/whybrownswiss.htm
19
Raw milk Truth, http://rawmilktruth.com/Types-of-Dairy-Cows.html
20
Moralee, Neil, Milk a Basic Material, http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/cheese.htm
9

10. (Photo by K. Loidolt)
Image 1: Brown Swiss & Holsteins Minnesota Milk
(Photo by K. Loidolt)
Image 2: Indiana Milk Cream Level Minnesota Milk Cream Level
10

11. (Photo by K. Loidolt) Image 3:
Gouda’s made from Minnesota Raw Milk & Indiana Milk note the difference in color.
The amount of fat in the cheese definitely effects the final product and flavor as well.
The cheese made with Indiana milk and having the highest milk fat content seemed to
have a fuller buttery & nuttier flavor, while the Minnesota milk was very mild and
seemed to have a milder flavor.
The milk was collected twice a day (morning & evening) at the milking house to be
processed (fig.3 & 8). In period they would have left the skimmed milk to warm
overnight by the fire near the hearth. A milk starter often cream (see Ref.#1) from the
next mornings milking21 (a bacterial agent some times referred to as a live culture) was
added that acted as an agent to help back down the proteins in the milk so that the milk
solids out separate out (the curds) and add in the acidification. One other method in
period for the source of a starter was to save a small amount of milk from a previous
batch of cheese before the rennet (or agent was added to cause the curd to separate from
the whey). Then something was added like thistle, safflower juice, or an acid (vinegar or
verjuice), ale, or rennet22 to cause the milk to clabbered (the curd to separate from the
whey).23
Each town would serve both fresh & hard cheeses adapted from the milk available in the
area where it was located. These cheeses would each have a unique flavor. The flavor of
the milk used in making the cheese would be effected by the grass or plants the animals
ate, the type and breed of animal being milked, the time of the year the milk was
collected and even the time of day (how rich was the milk), what type of milks were
being combined (some cheeses combine Cow, Goat, and Sheep milk to make cheese),
how & where the cheese was aged. In wine making the flavor the land gives to wine is
called terroir and the same is true for cheeses.
21
Power, Eileen, The Goodman of Paris, New York, 1992, pg.169
22
Arne Emil Christensen is Professor, Dr. Phil. at the University Museum of National Antiquities in Oslo, author of this article (He
specializes on shipbuilding history and craftsmanship in the Iron Age and the Viking period), http://ezinearticles.com/?Dairy-
Products-in-Anglo-Saxon-Times-%28Part-of-the-Anglo-Saxon-Survival-Guide%29&id=3754387
23
Power, Eileen, The Goodman of Paris, New York, 1992, pg.169
11

12. For this reason I have chosen to compare and contrast two types of whole raw milk. The
first two gallons of milk came from Indiana from around the Kokomo, Indiana area. The
cows from this farm are of the Short Horned milking variety. They are strictly pasture
feed during the summer months; this was contrasted against 2 gallons of milk from
Lastrup, Minnesota. The Minnesota milk comes from Holstein & Brown Swiss crosses
collected after the morning milking. These cows are mainly grain feed & supplemented
with pasture the milk was from the morning milking (see image #1 below).
Hard Cheese In Period and Naming Cheese Practices:
Some types of hard cheese were named for the area that they were being made such as
Gouda (in Holland)24; or the religious orders that made their own cheese. An example of
this was documented in 1543 in the ledgers of Saint-Aman Abby of Rouen where the
cheese called Neufchatel25, was mentioned in the book “A Proper newe Booke of
Cokerye.”26. Perhaps one of the most famous cheeses was one made in Germany since
1371 by Benedictine monks called Munster. Munster takes its name from the Latin word
for monastery, monasterium.27 In the 12th century demand for meat & animal products
were driving the medieval market. The expanding economy increased demand faster
than the demand for grains. Cistercians used the unification of their small communities
and the practice of pasturalism to effect this changing economy and the increased demand
for meat, milk eggs, butter and cheese.28 I have chosen to call the cheese made from the
milk from Minnesota Lastrup Gouda. Lastrup is the town closet to where the farm was
located. The cheese made from the Indiana milk is called Weissenthal Gouda. The
name reflects the major landmark of the region where I make this cheese from the White
River Valley.
Medieval Method of making cheese:
Sabina Flanagan wrote “at the monastery of Cluny, according to an eleventh-century
account, the regime for summer would consist of two meals per day. At the first there
would be a dish of dried beans, a course of cheese or eggs which was replaced by fish on
Thursday, Sunday, and feast days….”29 St. Hildegard of Bingen, wrote as well in Physica
specifically that “If one wishes to eat cheese, it should be neither cooked nor fresh, but
dried….”30 Here the description of DRIED Cheese and not soft or cooked is possibly
referencing hard slicing cheese or a grading style of cheese. St. Hildegard had many
visions that she had recorded in some of these visions she used common everyday things
as metaphors to relate information to the reader. In one vision she records the following,
24
Harreld, Donald J., Brigham Young Univ., The Dutch Ecomony in the Golden Age (16th~17th Centuries), 2/4/10, http://
eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Harreld.Dutch
25
Norman Cheeses, www.formages.org/fnd/fdn_neufcatel_en
26
A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye, 16th Century, 1545, http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/bookecok.htm
27
Albin, Michel, Linventaire du patrimoine culinaire de France, Lorraine, 1998, article on Munster-gerome AOC cheese, pg.
198~201, http://www.nethelper.com.au/article/Munster_%28cheese%29
28
Berman, Constance, Medieval Agriculture, the Southern-French Countryside, and the Early Cistercians, 1986, The American
Philosophical Society, ISBN0065-9846, gp10, pg.118~130
29
Flanagan, Sabina, Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179: a visionary life, Routledge, New York, 1989, Chpt. “World & Cloister”,
pg.33-36
30
Throop, Priscills, Hildegard von Bingen’s - Physica, Healing Arts Press, 1998, pg.15, pg.19
12

13. “….I also saw the earth with people on it. The people were carrying milk in their vessels,
and they were making cheese from the milk. Some of the milk was thick, from which
strong cheese was being made; some of the milk was thin, from which mild cheese was
being curdled; and some of the milk was spoiling, from which bitter cheese was being
produced.”31
Reference 1:
(Reference for selling cheese made in the market & using morning milk)
“My Lady of Middlesex makes excellent slipp-coat Cheese of good morning milk,
putting Cream to it. A quart of Cream is the proportion she useth to as much milk,
as both together make a large round Cheese of the bigness of an ordinary Tart-plate, or
cheese-plate; as big as an ordinary soft cheese, that eh Market women sell for ten
pence…”32
Reference 2:
(Making a pressed cheese)
(England, 17th century, “A True Gentlewoman’s Delight”, 1653)
To make a slipcoat Cheese
Take five quarts of new Milk from the Cow, and one quart of Water, and one spoonful of
Runnet, and stirre it together, and let it stand till it doth come, then lay your Cheese cloth
into the Vate, and let the Whey soak out of it self; when you have taken it all up, lay a
cloth on the top of it, and one pound weight for one hour, then lay two pound for one
hour more, then turn him when he hath stood two houres, lay three pound on him for an
hour more, then take him out of the Vate, and let him lie two or three houres, and then
salt him on both sides, when he is salt enough, take a clean cloth and wipe him dry, then
let him lie on a day or a night, then put Nettles under and upon him, and change them
once a day, if you find any Mouse turd wipe it off, the Cheese will come to his eating in
eight or nine dayes.33
Reference 3:
“Take a gallon of milk from the cow, and seethe it, and when it doth seethe put thereunto
a quart or two of morning milk in fair cleansing pans in such place as no dust may fall
therein. This is for you clotted cream. The next morning take a quart of morning milk,
and seethe it, and put in a quart of cream thereunto, and when it doth seethe, take if off
the fire. Put it in a fair earthen pan, and let it stand until it be somewhat blood warm. But
first over night put a good quantity of ginger, rose water, and stir it together. Let it settle
overnight. The next day put it into your said blood warm milk to make your cheese
come. Then put the curds in a fair cloth, with a little good rose water, fine powder of
ginger, and a little sugar. So lash great soft rolls together with a thread and crush out the
whey with your clotted cream. Mix it with fine powder of ginger, and sugar and so
sprinkle it with rose water, and put your cheese in a fair dish. And put these clots around
about it. Then take a pint of raw milk or cream and put it in a pot, and all to shake it until
it be gathered into a froth like snow. And ever as it cometh, take it off with a spoon and
31
Classen, Constance, The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender, and the Aesthetic Imagination, Rutledge, 1998, pg.15
32
The Project Gutenberg eBook “The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby”, www.gutenberg.org/files/16441, “To make Silpp-coat cheese”
33
Gode Cookery, Matterer, James L. site owner, http://www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec77.html
13

14. put into a colander. There put it upon your fresh cheese, and prick it with wafers, and so
serve it.”34
Reference 4:
Columella on Cheese Making:
(Both soft and pressed aged cheeses)
(Although an early source from 70 A.D. Columella was a contemporary of Pliny & Cato,
and at this point in time this was the most complete written source of instructions I have
found for making cheese both pressed & soft)
"Cheese should be made of pure milk which is as fresh as possible....It should usually be
curdled with rennet obtained from a lamb or kid, though it can also be coagulated with
the flower of the wild thistle or the seeds of the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), and
equally well with the liquid which flows from a Fig-tree...".
"A pail when it has been filled with milk should always be kept at some degree of heat: it
should not however be brought into contact with the flames....but should be put to stand
not far from the fire..."
"...when the liquid had thickened, it should immediately be transferred to wicker vessels
or baskets or moulds..."
"...as soon as the cheese has become somewhat more solid, they place weights on the top
of it, so that the whey may be pressed out;....then they are placed into a cool, shady place,
that it my not go bad....it is often placed on very clean boards, it is sprinkled with
pounded salt so that it may exude the acid liquid,...when it has hardened it is pressed
again....".
"...the method of making what we call "hand pressed" cheese is the best-known of
all: when the milk is slightly congealed in the pail and still warm it is broken up and
hot water is poured over it, and then it is either shaped by hand or else pressed into
box-wood moulds." (fig. 2)
"Others allow thyme which has been crushed and strained through a sieve to coagulate
with the milk and curdle it in this way, similarly, you can give the cheese an flavor you
like by adding any seasoning which you choose....Cheese also which is hardened in
brine and then colored with the smoke of apple tree wood or stubble has a not
unpleasant flavor..."35
34
Dawson, Thomas, The Good Housewife’s Jewel, Southover Press, 1996, pg.17~18
35
Columella II de re Rustica V-IX, Translated by E.S. Forster & E. Heffner, Book VII, pg.285~289
14

15. Gerard Ter Borch (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1617-1681) A Milking a Cow36
Note the Wooden Hoop for molding the cheese, this style has been in use for many
centuries for molding and pressing hard cheeses. “….and then it is either shaped by
hand or else pressed into box-wood moulds.”
Reference 5:
36
Gerald ter Borch, A Milking Cow, c.1617, http://bjws.blogspot.com/2011/02/women-cooking-1500s-1700s.html
15

16. 37
Reference 6:
Compendio de i secreti rationali di M. Leonardo Fiorvanti Bolognese, Medico &
Cirugico. (The Compendium of rational secroets of M. Leonardo Fiorvanti of Bologna,
Medic and Surgeon).
Translated by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson)
Del modo di fare il formaggio ò vero cascio Cap 51
Il cascio ò formaggio che si fa, lo fanno in questo modo, cioè. Quando il latte è
quagliato, lo rompono & lo mettono sopra il fuoco, e lo fanno scaldare fin tanto, che si
faccia una massa nel fondo della caldara, e poi lo cavano fuori & formano il formaggio
secondo che a lor piace, & poi lo salano, & lo fanno seccare; e con tale ordine tutti i
pastor fanno il formaggio, ma molto di questo si guasta; e chi lo volesse fare di estrama
bontà & che mai si guastarai, faccia in questo modo cioè. Piglia aceto fortissimo, & mel
commune, tanto di uno quanto di altro, & fallo bollire insieme, & quando si rome il latte,
per ogni trenta libre di latte, mettevi una scudella di detta compositione, & non lo
scaldare troppo; e poi formale pezze del formaggio di quella forma che si vuolve, &
subito che sia fatto salalo cosi caldo; e questo è il vero e gran secreto da fare il formaggio
bonissimo, & che non si guasterà mai. Percioche lo aceto & il mele sono materiale
incorruttibili, & per la loro virtù conservano il formaggio.
37
Best, Michael R., The English Housewife, McGill-Queen’s Univ. Press, 1998, Chpt 6, pg. 176~177
16

17. The way of making cheese or real cheese (it may be the difference between
formaggio being a molded cheese and Cascio a pressed cheese). Chapter 51.
The cheese that one makes, one makes in this way, that is: when the milk is coagulated
one breaks it and puts it over a fire and it is heated until it makes a mass at the bottom of
the pot. Then one takes it out and shapes the cheese, dependent on ones wishes, and then
salt it and put it to dry. But many times made this way it will spoil. If one would wish to
make a high quality one that never spoils make it in this way. That is: take the strongest
vinegar and common honey, more of the one than the other, and put them to boil
together. When one breaks the milk for each 30 “libre” of milk put in one “scudella” of
this mix and don’t heat it too much. Then make the pieces of cheese in whichever shape
you like and immediately a it is done salt it thus warm. This is truly the great secret to
make the very best cheese that never spoils because vinegar and honey are incorruptible
materials and their virtues preserve the cheese.
Libra – about 12 oz, libre - plural of libra
Scudella – small bowl between 430 -600ml38
Fig.8 Women had charge of the domestic animals including milking, butter making, and
cheese making production. (Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 764, fol. 44)39
Supplies:
38
Compendio de i secreti rationali di M. Leonardo Fiorvanti Bolognese, Medico & Cirugico. (The Compendium of rational secroets
of M. Leonardo Fiorvanti of Bologna, Medic and Surgeon). The full text of this document is available via BNF Gallica, Translated by
Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson), http://gallica.bnf.fr
39
Hanawalt, Barbara, A., The Ties That Bound – Peasant Families in Medieval England, Oxford Univ. Press, Chapter 8 “The
Husbandman’s Year and Economic Ventures:, pg.148
17

18. Modern stainless steel was used to keep the surfaces as clean as possible, for
modern health reasons.
2 gallons Whole Raw Milk
1 pkg. Mesophilic Culture DS (Direct Set)
1/2 tsp. Rennet
¼ cup cool water
2 lbs Sea Salt for brine
3 Stainless Steel Pots
1 Slotted Stainless Steel Spoon
1 yard of cheese cloth
1 Colander
1 Stainless Steel Ladle
1 Thermometer
1 Cheese Press
1 Cheese Mould & Follower
1 Timer
2 Reed Mats to place the cheese on
1 Stainless Measuring cup
Cheese Wax or Bee’s Wax (optional)
To Make A Basic Gouda Cheese:
(Method used in “Cheese making Made Easy” by Ricki & Robert Carroll)40
There is an Italian proverb that says “Cheese without a rind is like a maiden without
shame” 41 that certainly speaks to the fact that hard cheeses were being made (a cheese
having a rind is most often used in context of a semi-hard / hard aged cheese). There are
also a number of medieval recipes that call for sliced or graded cheese as part of the
cooking preparation please reference Item #1 “To make a Tarte of Chese”. The cheeses I
have made are referred to as a washed curd style of hard cheese. It is pressed, then
placed in a brine bath to develop a rind, and sealed in some fashion after a drying period
(optional), smoked, or it may have a natural rind.
Modern Method:
2-gallon whole raw milk
There is an additional step here if you plan to use Raw Milk and eat your cheese
in less than 60 days of aging. You will need to heat the milk for 30 min. to a
temperature of 145°, then place the pot immediately into a sink filled with cool
water and ice if necessary to bring the temp of the milk down quickly, then after
cooled place sterile clean container and proceed with cheese making steps below.
40
Carroll, Ricki & Robert, “Cheese Making Made Easy”, Storey Books, 1996, Chapter on “Hard Cheese” pages
41
After Cheese Comes Nothing, http://aftercheese.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/blessed-hildegard-and-the-profiling-of-cheese,
9/20/2008
18

19. 1 package of Mesophilic Culture DS contains: lactose, lactococcus lactis (subsp.
Lactis), lactococcus lactis (subsp. Cremoris) this is used for temperatures under
105º
½ tsp. of Rennet for 2 gallons of milk
¼ cup of cool water to dilute the rennet into
Coarse Sea Salt for Brine bath
(Additional information & supplies may also be found at this site run by Rickii Carroll
http://www.cheesemaking.com/Gouda.html)
Time Line for the Gouda process
Step Time Elapsed Time
Add culture 0 min.
Ripen milk 30 min. 30 min.
Rennet 40 min. 70 min.
Cut Curds 5 min. 75 min.
Cook Curds 15 min. 1h 30m
Stir 30 min. 2h
Press Under Whey 15 min. 2h 15m
Press 8-10 hr. 2h 30m
Remove from press and dry overnight 10-12 hr.
Brine 24h
42
Time Table for making Gouda
Step One:
Warm the milk to 90ºF (using indirect warming method), add Starter and allow to site for
15~30 minutes.
Step 2:
Then add Rennet, stir, and allow to sit undisturbed for 1 hour or until a clean break has
occurred.
Step 3:
Cut the curds into ½ ~ ¼ inch cubes, allow to site for 5 minutes.
42
Carroll, Rickii, http://www.cheesemaking.com/Gouda.html, Gouda
19

20. Step 4:
In a separate pan warm plain water to 175ºF
Step 5:
Remove 1/3 of the whey and replace with enough water from above that the temperature
of the curds comes to 92~94ºF, stir for 10 minutes to keep curds from matting.
Step 6:
Remove again 1/3 of the whey/water and replace with enough warm water from above to
heat the curds to 100ºF, stir for 15 minutes.
Step 7:
Allow curds to sit covered for 30 minutes.
Step 8:
Pour the warm curds into a cheese cloth lined colander.
Step 9:
Place the cheese cloth into a ouold and place the follower place into the cheese press
apply approximately 15~21 pounds of pressure for 20~30 minutes.
Step 10:
Remove the mould from the press and remove the cheese flip it over and return it to the
press for an additional 20~30 minutes with 15~21 pounds of pressure.
Step 11:
Remove the mould and flip the cheese and return to the press and apply 20 pounds of
pressure for 12 hours.
Step 12:
Remove the mould and flip the cheese and return to the press and apply 20 pounds of
pressure for an additional 8~12 hours.
Step 13:
Remove the cheese from the mould, remove the cheese cloth and place into the brine
solution for 8~12 hours (or 3~4 hours per pound of cheese).
Step 14:
Remove the cheese from the brine, pat dry place on a drying rack and place in
refrigerator for 1~3 weeks turning daily and wiping with a damp brine cloth as needed.
(Its is after this step and 3~5 of drying that you could low temperature smoke the Gouda
or proceed to Step 15)
Step 15:
Melt the cheese wax or bees wax and apply to the cheese round. Gouda’s can also be
aged with a natural rind and do not have to be waxed.
Step 16:
Age for 1 month minimum, or up to 18 months for a stronger flavor
This basic Gouda cheese will be ready to eat in 1 month, but the flavor will develop if left
to age longer.
20

21. Cut the curds
Curds after 15 minutes of heating at 92º~94ºF, after
nd
the 2 round of hot water the curds will be ½ again as small and will form a nice firm
ball when tested.
After drying for 2 weeks notice the embossed top on the right hand side
Melting the Cheese Wax (use a double boiler for this step)
21

22. Rounds can either be dipped or the wax may
be brushed on, I prefer the dip method.
Finished cheese ready for additional aging
Observations:
Tasting Note: The rind was well formed and not overly thick. I found the cheese to be
not overly dry with a pleasant mild nutty flavor. I think that in future I may need to see
how to control the Ph a little better to me the cheese seems to have a tangy under flavor
though not unpleasant certainly is something for me to strive to lessen if possible. Since
this is also cured in brine, this style of cheese does not seem to be as salty to the modern
pallet. One should excise a note of caution here, as cheese ages if draws salt from the
outside in, so if you should leave your cheese in the brine liquid to long you run the risk
of your Gouda being to salty. I also want to try some low temperature smoking with
apple wood to see how it changes the flavor, and also try different things to seal the
cheese to see how it changes the flavor.
The texture is also different in so much as the Weisstal Gouda made with the Indiana
milk had a firmer texture, while the Lastrup Gouda made with the Minnesota milk had a
creamier texture. There were also color differences. The Indiana Gouda seemed to be a
richer yellow due to a higher milk fat content, while the Minnesota Gouda seemed to be
more to the whiter color side lower milk fat content (Image 3). Again this is mainly due
to the fact the butter fat content of the milks were different with the Minnesota milk
having about ½ of the cream as the Indiana milk. (Image 2)
22

23. Additional Observations:
“Take harde chese and cut it in slices…”43
With out sealing the cheese it would develop a nice tart flavor, with a dry crumbly
texture. So sealing the out side of a hard cheese is necessary to prevent it from loosing
too much of the remaining moisture content unless the cheese is a grading style cheese.
Lovely white
mold that helps
develop the
flavor of cheese.
This is how the unsealed cheese looked after 5 months; it did develop a very nice white
mold which is one of the molds cheese makers want.
Conclusion:
This is a process I have been learning about for the last 4 years, I started Medieval
Cheese Forum a year ago (www.medievalcheese.blogspot.com) so I could keep track of
mistakes and successes, share information I have learned about cheese making.
Some of the things I learned were if my house is too cold the curd will not set. I can
warm the milk and add more Rennet, and that if using a raw milk product that is
produced near the end of the cows or goat’s lactation cycle the milk does not contain
enough milk fat to set a curd (you get a weak or soft curd that does not hold up during the
cheese making process for hard cheese). I have also learned that time is much more
critical for making hard cheeses, and the process of making hard cheeses is not nearly as
forgiving as making soft cheeses.
On adding rennet I learned early on that a little goes a long way and adding two much of
something in the case of making cheese can be a bad thing. Adding not enough rennet
and your curd will not set, but I have found that you can add a little more if necessary.
Adding to much rennet will give it a rubbery texture and a bitter under taste. This also
will happen if your rennet is too old.
This last statement is important because it explains a couple of written statements I found
in period sources that talked about the time of year and the quality of the cheese products
produced. For example in the spring and early summer the milk is rich and contains a
large of amount of protein and milk fat due to new pastures and lactation for their young,
so the cheese is going to be very rich in body and flavor. If the milk is in the fall then it
is not as rich due to the decline of pasture feeding and that they are no longer lactating, so
the cheese produced in the fall will take more milk to produce a pound of cheese due to a
lower amount of protein and fat making the milk thinner (the cream that comes to the top
43
A Boke of Gode Cooke, To make a Tarte of Chese, http://www.godecookery.com/trscript/trsct032.html
23

24. is not as thick as in the spring/ summer milk). What the animals eat also effect the flavor
of the cheese as well. This is a lot of the reason I wanted to compare and contrast cheeses
made from milk from different areas, different breeds of cows.
Part of the preservation of hard cheese comes in how moisture can I get the curds to give
up without taking out too much and making a very dry cheese (i.e. how much whey can I
get out of the curd). This is done in several ways thru the process, by hanging, pressing,
and salting. Cheeses pressed and aged in this manner can and do last years.
Another lesson that applies as much now as then is keeping things clean, “morning milk
in fair cleansing pans in such place as no dust may fall therein”44. There are times when
no matter what you do the milk will not set a curd and all you can do is start over and
feed the previous batch to the pig.
Enjoy sampling the cheese.
Fig. 9 & 10
Please reference Illumination in Fig. 2, look on the left hand side, and notice the wooden
form that the bundle of cheese is being pressed in and the container below to catch the
whey. Above are two images taken from a modern video showing traditional cheese
making. The form and methods have not changed since the 14th century.
44
Dawson, Thomas, The Good Housewife’s Jewel, Southover Press, 1996, pg.17~18
45
Traditional Cheese making, Video #587, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4LNS7F_-DM&feature=related, screen capture from
video
587 Gyimesközéplok Traditional cheese-making, Sajtkészítés
24

25. 46
fig. 5
Warming
milk
Slotted
ladle &
strainer
47
Fig. 6 warming the milk
46
Norman Cheeses, www.formages.org/fnd/fdn_neufcatel_en
47
From Tacuinum Sanitatis (ÖNB Codex Vindobonensis, series nova 2644), c. 1370-1400)
http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/foods/foods.html
25

26. 48
Fig.7: A cheese cave as one might have seen it in the middle ages
49
Fig. 8 Draining Whey
48
Feibleman, Peter, The Cooking of Spain & Portugal, Time Life Books, 1969, pg. 130~131
49
Take 1000 Eggs or More, pg. 45, from Schweizer Chronik, c. 1548
26

27. 50
Fig. 9 Roman Cheese Mold in form and function very similar to those found from 600 – 1600A.D.
51
All other photos unless otherwise noted were taken by me.
Material Referenced:
50
Roman Cheese Press, Greyware circular straight-sided bowl, used for training the Whey from cheese, c. 450 A.D.,
http://www.museumoflondonprints.com
51
Het eerste gedrukte Nederlandsche kookboek, Brussel, Thomas vander Noot (+/-1510)
The First Printed Dutch Cookbook , http://users.telenet.be/willy.vancammeren/NBC/index.htm
27

28. 1. Fig.137. Cheese; from the Theatrum Sanitatis, Library Casanatense, Rome,
http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/foods/foods.html
2. After Cheese comes nothing, Nov. 30, 2008, Cheese History,
http://aftercheese.wordpress.com/category/cheese-history
3. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, http://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/1276116.jpg
4. Market Scene, c. 1550, AERTSEN, Pieter Flemish painter (b. 1508, Amsterdam, d.
1575, Amsterdam), in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich
5. The Alkmaar Cheese Market,
http://www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/cheesmarket.html
6. Coquinaria, Christianne Muusers,
http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/making_cheese/gouda_cheese.htm
7. Breakfast Still-life with Bread, Cheese and Cherries, Clara Peeters,
http://arthistoryblogger.blogspot.com/2011/06/history-as-seen-through-dutch-still.html
8. Peasants by the Hearth, 1560’s, Museum Mayer von den Bergh, Antwerp
9. Laid Table, c.1622, private collection, oil on wood
10. Corsair Online Research Resource of the Pierpont Morgan Library, M.1001, 48r,
Miniature: Shepherds: Annunciation, http://utu.morganlibrary.org
11. Barnes, Donna R. & Rose, Peter G., Matters of taste: food and drink in seventeenth-
century Dutch art and life, Syracuse University Press, 2002, pg. 18
12. Haris Amin, Dutch Cheese, Published on January 27, 2010 in Food,
http://quazen.com/recreation/food/dutch-cheese
13. The Alkmaar Cheese Market, a tradition since 1593,
http://www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/cheesmarket.html
14. National Historical Museum, Sweden Photo Stream,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28772513@N07/5264101891/in/faves-historiska
Corsair Online Research Resource of the Pierpont Morgan Library, M.87 47r, Bestiary
http://utu.morganlibrary.org
15. Finnish National Museum, Helsinki, Cheese moulds
16. Milking Shorthorns – An Efficient Dairy Alternative, http://www.cmss.on.ca/breed.php
17. Brown Swiss, http://brownswiss.org.nz/whybrownswiss.htm
18. Raw milk Truth, http://rawmilktruth.com/Types-of-Dairy-Cows.html
19. Moralee, Neil, Milk a Basic Material, http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/cheese.htm
20. Power, Eileen, The Goodman of Paris, New York, 1992, pg.169
21. Arne Emil Christensen, Professor, Dr. Phil. at the University Museum of National
Antiquities in Oslo, author of this article (He specializes on shipbuilding history and
craftsmanship in the Iron Age and the Viking period), http://ezinearticles.com/?Dairy-
Products-in-Anglo-Saxon-Times-%28Part-of-the-Anglo-Saxon-Survival-Guide
%29&id=3754387
22. Power, Eileen, The Goodman of Paris, New York, 1992, pg.169
23. Harreld, Donald J., Brigham Young Univ., The Dutch Ecomony in the Golden Age
(16th~17th Centuries), 2/4/10, http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Harreld.Dutch
24. Norman Cheeses, www.formages.org/fnd/fdn_neufcatel_en
25. A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye, 16th Century, 1545, http://www.uni-
giessen.de/gloning/tx/bookecok.htm
28

29. 26. Albin, Michel, Linventaire du patrimoine culinaire de France, Lorraine, 1998, article
on Munster-gerome AOC cheese, pg. 198~201,
http://www.nethelper.com.au/article/Munster_%28cheese%29
27. Berman, Constance, Medieval Agriculture, the Southern-French Countryside, and the
Early Cistercians, 1986, The American Philosophical Society, ISBN0065-9846, gp10,
pg.118~130
28. Flanagan, Sabina, Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179: a visionary life, Routledge, New
York, 1989, Chpt. “World & Cloister”, pg.33-36
29. Throop, Priscills, Hildegard von Bingen’s - Physica, Healing Arts Press, 1998, pg.15,
pg.19
30. Classen, Constance, The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender, and the Aesthetic
Imagination, Rutledge, 1998, pg.15
31. The Project Gutenberg eBook “The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby”,
www.gutenberg.org/files/16441, “To make Silpp-coat cheese”
32. Gode Cookery, Matterer, James L. site owner,
http://www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec77.html
33. Gerald ter Borch, A Milking Cow, c.1617, http://bjws.blogspot.com/2011/02/women-
cooking-1500s-1700s.html
34. Best, Michael R., The English Housewife, McGill-Queen’s Univ. Press, 1998, Chpt 6,
pg. 176~177
35. Compendio de i secreti rationali di M. Leonardo Fiorvanti Bolognese, Medico &
Cirugico. (The Compendium of rational secroets of M. Leonardo Fiorvanti of Bologna,
Medic and Surgeon). The full text of this document is available via BNF Gallica,
Translated by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson), http://gallica.bnf.fr
36. Hanawalt, Barbara, A., The Ties That Bound – Peasant Families in Medieval
England, Oxford Univ. Press, Chapter 8 “The Husbandman’s Year and Economic
Ventures:, pg.148
37. Carroll, Ricki & Robert, “Cheese Making Made Easy”, Storey Books, 1996, Chapter
on “Hard Cheese” pages
38. After Cheese Comes Nothing, http://aftercheese.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/blessed-
hildegard-and-the-profiling-of-cheese, 9/20/2008
39. Carroll, Rickii, http://www.cheesemaking.com/Gouda.html, Gouda
40. A Boke of Gode Cooke, To make a Tarte of Chese,
http://www.godecookery.com/trscript/trsct032.html
41. Dawson, Thomas, The Good Housewife’s Jewel, Southover Press, 1996, pg.17~18
42. Traditional Cheese making, Video #587, http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=I4LNS7F_-DM&feature=related, screen capture from video
587 Gyimesközéplok Traditional cheese-making, Sajtkészítés
43. Norman Cheeses, www.formages.org/fnd/fdn_neufcatel_en
44. From Tacuinum Sanitatis (ÖNB Codex Vindobonensis, series nova 2644), c.
1370-1400) http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/foods/foods.html
45. Feibleman, Peter, The Cooking of Spain & Portugal, Time Life Books, 1969, pg.
130~131
46. Take 1000 Eggs or More, pg. 45, from Schweizer Chronik, c. 1548
47. Roman Cheese Press, Greyware circular straight-sided bowl, used for training the
Whey from cheese, c. 450 A.D., http://www.museumoflondonprints.com
29

30. 48. Het eerste gedrukte Nederlandsche kookboek, Brussel, Thomas vander Noot
(+/-1510) The First Printed Dutch Cookbook , http://users.telenet.be/willy.vancammeren/
NBC/index.htm
30