I’m scratching my head. I’m a well traveled, adventurous woman. Why haven’t I been to Amsterdam before? This is a city that is tailor made for me – everywhere is walking distance, stunning art galleries, chilled vibe and more importantly, a cheese loving populace. My home for my quick visit was the seriously stylish Andaz Amsterdam, located on the edge of the funky Nine Streets area and frankly, one of the most fabulous hotels I have stayed in. The Netherlands is not known for its cuisine, but it is known for its cheese. Gouda to be more precise. Now I have been scornful of this cheese in the past, until…
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East of Edam…aka Pass the Dutchie
OK, so my last post about my apparent dislike of Gouda cheese caused a bit of a firestorm of protest from Dutch blog readers and friends. Apparently I insulted their national icon. Various other words were uttered, they may have been bad, all Dutch words sound dirty to me, so I wouldn’t know. I should have been a diplomat. In the spirit of reconciliation and being able to show my face around town, I searched for the famed aged Dutch Gouda cheese many had told me about. I found it at Dean & Deluca here in Doha – two year aged cheese from Wyngaard. The Reypenaer VSOP Gouda is aged…
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Was it Gouda For You Too?
I have to be honest with you, I may have met a cheese I do not like. Gouda cheese is so harmless it’s almost, well, offensive. /p> I decided to give it another try, buying some pre-sliced Gouda from my local French supermarket. Even on a white plastic tray, covered in cling film, it looks bloody boring. apparently the cheese is dried for a few days before being encased in the wax it is famous for. Depending on age classification, it can be aged a number of weeks to over seven years before it is ready to be eaten. As it ages, it develops a caramel sweetness and sometimes has…