Gouda Cheese Nutrition Facts

Nutrition facts about the cheese, Gouda, and Edam. The daily numbers are based on a 2000-calorie diet and a body weight of 155 pounds (change). Your daily nutrient requirements may fluctuate depending on your age, gender, amount of physical activity, medical history, and other factors. Before making any dietary modifications, please with your doctor.

The nutrition labels on this site are mainly for illustrative purposes. Gouda is a wax-coated, aged cheese that has a flavor that can range from mildly sweet and buttery when young to powerfully nutty and caramelized after a year or more of aging. It’s widely available as an artisan cheese for cheese plates and a younger cheese for sandwiches that smoothly slice and melt.

Gouda Cheese Nutrition Facts

Gouda cheese will astound you with its nutritional value. Gouda cheese has a lot of nutritious value for your health. Calcium, vitamins, minerals, protein, and fat are all abundant. The high calcium content of gouda cheese might help you maintain good bone health. Furthermore, gouda cheese includes vitamin K2, produced during bacterial fermentation. Furthermore, gouda cheese contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can help to improve your cardiovascular health.

Gouda Cheese Nutrition Facts

Using data from the USDA Food Composition Databases, the total nutritional values for Gouda cheese per 100 grams. Gouda cheese contains 17 g of saturated fat and 100 mg of cholesterol per 100-gram serving. Here is a table of the nutrition facts for 100 grams of Gouda cheese:

Nutrient Amount % Daily Value*
Calories 356 18%
Total Fat 27 g 35%
Saturated Fat 17 g 85%
Cholesterol 100 mg 33%
Sodium 819 mg 36%
Total Carbohydrates 2 g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%
Sugars 0 g 0%
Protein 25 g 50%
Vitamin D 0.3 mcg 2%
Calcium 818 mg 63%
Iron 0.4 mg 2%
Potassium 98 mg 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

What is Gouda Cheese?

Gouda is associated with the Netherlands, where it was first produced in the 1500s and probably as early as the 12th century. In truth, Gouda is named after the town of Gouda in the Netherlands, which is home to one of the country’s busiest cheese markets. Innovating processes to manufacture sturdy, long-lasting cheeses like Gouda and Edam, the Dutch became masters of cheesemaking between the 1500s and the 1700s.

They were long-lasting, resilient, and recognizable from their colorful exteriors because of their low moisture content and rinds treated with saffron-infused vinegar. Unlike many other well-known European kinds of cheese, Gouda lacks a protected indication of origin (PDO). These rules set out the requirements for making cheeses that can be sold under a specific label.

As a result, gouda’s quality varies greatly, with both commodity kinds of cheese and small-scale artisan wheels being sold under the term. Looking for Goudas made in the Netherlands is a good rule of thumb because they tend to be of higher quality. Boerenkaas is the Dutch word for “farmstead” cheese, used in the United States. That is, cheese is prepared from the milk of animals raised on the same farm as cheese.

By mandating that all Boerenkaas cheese be made with raw (unpasteurized) milk, the name “Boerenkaas” goes a step further. Boerenkaas is a very little quantity of Dutch Gouda. Dairy cooperatives that create cheese by combining the milk from various farms make the remaining Gouda that is produced in the Netherlands. In the United States, Beemster, a well-known Dutch cooperative, sells their Gouda.

How is Gouda Cheese Made?

After heating raw or pasteurized milk, microorganisms are introduced to start the fermentation process and acidify the milk. The milk is then coagulated with rennet to form a gel-like curd. To remove whey and minimize moisture, the curds are sliced. The sweetness and low moisture content of Gouda1 are two crucial qualities, and the following methods produce these characteristics.

The curds are scalded with hot water and stirred, removing moisture from the curds. The whey is then washed away, removing much of the lactose from the cheese. The outcome is a sweeter-tasting cheese since the lactose does not break down into lactic acid during the maturing process. Some Gouda kinds are pale yellow or off-white, while others are dark golden or orange.

The orange color comes from adding annatto to the milk before making the cheese, similar to Cheddar and Colby. Annatto is a natural food color made from the seed of the achiote plant. Lactic bacteria cultures1 that create CO2 are added to the milk, which results in tiny holes in Gouda. CO2 causes bubbles (gas) to form in the cheese, resulting in tiny holes or eyes.

What are the Varieties of Gouda Cheese?

The significant distinction between Gouda styles is their age. Young Gouda is softer, gentler in flavor, springier to the touch, and lighter in color than mature Gouda. Gouda which has been aged for a year or longer has a darker color, a more complex, crystalline texture, and more pronounced toffee, brown butter, and toasted nut flavors and aromas.

Gouda has strong flavors that can be bitter, salty, sweet, nutty, and caramelized as it ages. The texture also becomes firmer and denser. The texture changes, becoming rigid, crumbly, and quite dense.

Substitutes of Gouda Cheese

In sandwiches, casseroles, and other baked foods, replace young Gouda with mild, semi-firm melting cheeses such as Edam, Monterey Jack, Havarti, deli Muenster, and mild Cheddar. If you’re going to substitute cheddar for Gouda in a dish, stay away from sharp cheddar, which has too much bite to be a good fake.

However, you can use Gouda in any recipe that calls for mild white or yellow cheddar. A substitute for aged Gouda would be a hard, strong-flavored cheese like Parmesan, Gruyère, or other ancient Alpine cheeses including Dry Jack.

What are the Uses of Gouda cheese?

For appropriate purposes, both young and aged Gouda perform well. Young Gouda slices and melts beautifully in sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, casseroles, frittatas, quiches, and other baked dishes. On the other hand, Aged Gouda melts poorly due to its decreased moisture content.

On the other hand, Aged Gouda thrives in other areas because of its richer flavor, such as grating it over pasta dishes like Parmesan or Pecorino.

How to Store Gouda?

To keep Gouda from drying out in your refrigerator, keep it in its original packaging in the cheese drawer or crisper. Rewrap any remaining Gouda in cheese paper after opening. The cheese will last two to three weeks in the refrigerator. If you don’t have cheese paper, securely wrap the cheese in parchment paper and place it in a plastic sandwich bag. Fold but do not seal the bag around the cheese. This keeps moisture in a while, enabling air to circulate.

You can freeze young Gouda for up to two months in a zip-top bag after wrapping it tightly in plastic. Before using, the cheese can be chilled and frozen overnight. Use it in baked dishes or other applications where it will melt, but be aware that the texture may eventually become crumbly and unpleasant. It is not advisable to freeze old gouda.

What does Gouda Cheese Taste Like?

The flavor of Gouda cheese is unrivaled. The flavor of young Gouda cheese is mild and slightly sweet. Depending on its age, Gouda cheese can have a hard, semi-hard, or soft texture.

When gouda cheese is kept for a more extended period, it develops a buttery and nutty flavor. In addition, the texture and color of aged gouda cheese harden and darkens.

You may notice that the flavor of different gouda cheeses isn’t always the same, as the process of creating gouda cheese might modify the ingredients, causing the taste to change slightly.

Conclusion

Gouda cheese is an excellent cheese found in a wide range of meals. There are many different types of cheese available worldwide, but gouda is one of the most stunning. Naturally, this excellent cheese has a distinct flavor that distinguishes it from other cheeses.

After reading this piece, I feel you should buy gouda cheese right away because of its various uses, distinct flavors, and nutritional values. Continue reading to learn everything there is to know about gouda cheese.