Making Homemade Dutch Gouda Recipe

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· ==> 3 and 1/2 gallons or 12 liters of fresh milk (This can be either raw cow milk, homo milk, or goat milk.)

· ==>1/2 tsp. mesophilic type III culture powder or 3/4 cup of mesophilic type III cheese starter culture

· ==>1/4 tsp. annatto colour (optional)

· ==>1 and 1/2 tsp. liquid rennet

· ==>1 tsp. calcium chloride if using homo milk

· ==> Pour 3 and 1/2 gallons of milk into stock pot.

· ==> Now set the stock pot into a warm water bath.

· ==>Warm the milk to 85 degrees F or 29 degrees C.

· ==>Add the mesophilic type III culture or cheese starter culture.

· ==>Add the annatto colour.

· ==>Add the rennet, but first mix it in 1/4 of cool water before adding it to the milk.

· ==>Add calcium chloride if using homo milk from the store.

· ==> Let the milk sit for 45 minutes until the curd forms.

· ==> Cut the curds and then gently stir for 10 minutes.

· ==>Let the curds settle to the bottom of the pot.

· ==> Wash the curds by pouring off 1/3 of the whey and replacing the whey with water that is at 42 degrees C or 107 degrees F.

· ==>Stir for 10 minutes.

· ==> Now pour off 1/2 of the whey and replace the whey with water that is at 42 degrees C or 107 degrees F.

· ==>Stirring occasionally, let the curds sit in the whey for 20 more minutes. Drain the curds.

· ==> Place the curds into the cheese press.

· ==> Apply medium pressure to the cheese.

· ==> In one hour rewrap the cheese and press with a firmer pressure for overnight.

· ==> Remove cheese from press and place into a salt brine for 15 hours. Remove from brine and allow to dry.

· ^,^ Now apply the cream wax and then the hard wax. Place the cheese in a cool place to age. And then enjoy!

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Global Warming is Under Attack!!!

Do you know what the meaning of global warming is? Global warming refers to the current rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. Well, the planet is warming from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move. And I think we have to participate to keep this earth green, because if we are not doing that, the great impacts will appear.

“The warnings about global warming have been extremely clear for a long time. We are facing a global climate crisis. It is deepening. We are entering a period of consequences.” Al Gore

The first impact is ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice. With an increase in temperature glaciers worldwide are melting faster than the time taken for new ice layers to form, sea water is getting hotter and expanding causing sea levels to rise, rivers overflow due to melting glaciers causing floods, and innumerable undesired effects are taking place due to global warming.

Second, sea level rise became faster over the last century. Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).

Third, ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north, others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.

And finally global warming could make hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger. And some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes. Those are bad effects of global warming. If we don’t prevent it soon, it’ll get worse. So let’s love this earth and make it green!

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Dutch Cheese Varieties

· Gouda

Gouda is a semi-hard cheese with a 48 % milk fat content and a mild to piquant taste. Ageing intensifies the flavor and hardness.

Graskaas is made from the first milkings after the cows return to the grassy polders from a winter spent inside. The fresh spring-time grasses lend the 1 month old cheese a rich, creamy texture and naturally yellow color. When graskaas is only aged for up to 1 week it has a milky color and is called meikaas. Jonge kaas (aged for 4 weeks) and jong belegen kaas (2 months) are well-suited for sandwiches. Other Goudas are fantastic for cooking; try extra belegen (aged for 7-8 months) if you're looking to substitute Jack or Cheddar cheeses. The oldest varieties, such as oude kaas (aged for at least 10 months) and overjarig (1 to 2 years), are excellent for eating in crumbly shards with a nice, sharp mustard or slick of apple syrup

About 50% of the cheese production in Holland is devoted to this iconic cheese, making it our most important and best-known cheese. Gouda usually comes in cheese wheels weighing 26.5 pounds (12 kilos) and Baby Goudas of half a pound to a pound (250 g to a kilo). Beemster, Reypenaer and Old Amsterdam are popular commercial brands.

· Edam

Edam cheese is the second most important cheese in the Netherlands, making up 27% of our total cheese production. Edam is semi-hard, with a fat content of 40% and a very mellow, salty taste that appeals to all ages. Ageing intensifies the flavor and hardness. The cheese has a typical round shape and weighs 4 pounds (1.7 kilos). Baby Edammers weigh half a pound (1 kilo). Export versions often have a red paraffin coating. Westland exports good Edam cheese, but whatever brand you buy, make sure it is from Holland. Cheap imitations that taste nothing like the original abound, unfortunately.

· Maasdammer

Maasdammer cheese represents 15% of Dutch cheese production. It has large holes, a domed shape and a sweet, nutty taste. The shape, typical taste and holes are created by special bacteria that release gases during the maturation process. Leerdammer and Maasdam are the best known brands of Maasdammer cheese.

· Boerenkaas

Boerenkaas (literally, farmer cheese) is a raw milk cheese, i.e. unpasteurized. By law, at least half of the milk used in the production of boerenkaas should come from the farm's own cattle. The other half may be purchased from no more than two other dairy farms. This ensures an artisanal product. 

· Goat's cheese

Dutch goat's cheese is available as the familiar fresh, soft goat's cheese we all know and in the semi-hard Gouda style. The advantage of this goat's cheese is that it needs a shorter maturation process than cheese made from cow milk. Semi-hard goat's cheese is pale, with a slightly piquant taste, but a creamy melt-in-the-mouth texture. Look out for aged Bettine Grand Cru , which was chosen 2006 Best Cheese of the World during the annual Nantwich International Cheese Show in England.

· Smoked cheese

Smoked cheese is melted and smoked, and then reconstituted into sausage-like shapes. It is usually sold in slices and has a distinctive brown rind and a smoky taste.

· Frisian clove cheese

This cheese is made with low fat milk, cumin and cloves. The cheese is quite firm in texture and comes in a wheel with sharp edges. A long ripening process creates a hard, dry and somewhat tart cheese.

· Leidse cheese

The original cumin cheese from Leiden is dry, piquant and somewhat tart. It has a fat percentage of 40%. Ageing intensifies the cumin flavor. Boeren Leidse (literally 'farmhouse Leiden cheese') has a fat percentage of 20% and a dark red rind with the Leiden city crest (keys) on it.

· Dutch blue cheese

While blue cheese is not strictly traditional in the Netherlands, the Dutch do make some delicious Gouda cheeses with powerful blue veins rippling through them. The most commercially available brand, called Delfts Blauw (also called Bleu de Graven) tastes rich and sweet, and not as salty as roquefort. There is also an organic brand, Bastiaanse Blauw(available at organic stores and Marqt supermarkets in the Netherlands).

· Herb cheese

This category includes cheeses (mostly Gouda or boerenkaas) that are flavored with herbs such as parsley and chives, but also more unusual ones such as nettles, mustard, onion or pepper.

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