Usually I would judge such naming tactics as misleading and a shameless ploy to dupe customers into thinking they're buying a product from well, Holland, but the folks at Marieke Gouda get a pass. You see, they're a first generation family from Holland, using techniques they learned in Holland to make cheese in Wisconsin. Not everyone has the credentials to back up such a name, so be vigilant.
They also have one of the most fluid websites I've seen for a cheesemaking operation, detailing how they left Holland in 2002 looking for room to expand their dairy operations. Expand they did, and they now produce award winning cheeses left and right. Center, too.
Now, I would add the caveat that they produce what's essentially one cheese in 13 flavors, but when your cheese is Marieke Gouda and has risen from nothing to nationwide distribution in less than five years you do what you want.
Origin: Wisconsin, USA
Milk: Cow, unpasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: A "mittelalt" Gouda, I'd say around the 6 month mark
Notes: I had never quite realized how fiercely proud Wisconsinites are of their cheese. If you'd like to see just how seriously they take their curd check out The Cheese Underground.
Thoughts: Although this gouda does not look impressive, in fact the piece I bought didn't look very appetizing at all, it is actually a solid, perhaps even outstanding, cheese. After first biting in the flavor is instantly creamy and builds up to a solid nutty and rich savoryness with a hint of the grassy goodness. You know the one. The standard sweet and lip-smacking aftertaste is present and rounds out a real Wisconsin treat. There are spread out pockets of “crunch” from the casein, always a hit with me, but although the flavor is rich it is not very complex. A great and reliable go-to Gouda that falls in between sensational snacking simplicity and one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Caution
Hell hath no fury like a Wisconsinite whose cheese has been insulted.
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