L'amuse Signature Aged Gouda Cheese

While Gouda is made everywhere in the Netherlands, there are major differences between Goudas from different regions. These wheels are made in the north from milk of Holstein cows, two factors that give the cheese a distinctive creaminess speckled with big, crunchy flavor crystals.

Selected for us by Betty Koster of L'amuse, Amsterdam's top cheese shop, this cheese is aged for over two years. The flavor is correspondingly intense. It fills your mouth with butterscotch and caramel, almost like a dessert. In fact, a single nib, taken with espresso after dinner, is a revelation.

Want to step it up even more? The sweet notes in this cheese are a remarkably good pair with dried fruit, and with the sweet and bitter notes of dark chocolate--both of which are present in spades in our Chocolate Dipped Figs. 

"Cheese candy"
New York Magazine

"[T]his aged Gouda selected for Zingerman's by Betty Koster of L'amuse, Amsterdam's top cheese shop, is a revelation and a reminder of how special aged cheese can be. As cheese ages, it develops crunchy amino acid crystals and its flavors concentrate. The L'Amuse kind of reminds me of the crunchy interior of a Butterfinger, but in fancy cheese form. Pair it with chocolate for a very good time."
Chistine Clark, Business Insider

Cow's milk
Pasteurized
Vegetarian rennet