User:Silverkingfish14/Gouda cheese

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"What is the manufacturing process of gouda?" <<<<<(Topic question)>>>>> (Contributors: Tommy P Le for Origin and Health Benefits sections. Simeon Kirkland for first paragraph of Nutritional value) (Do not add to final page, ignore)

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Gouda Cheese (/ˈɡaʊdə/ (listen), US also /ˈɡuːdə/ (listen), Dutch: [ˈɣʌudaː] (listen); Dutch: Goudse kaas, "cheese from Gouda") is a sweet, creamy, yellow cow's milk cheese originating from the Netherlands, specifically South Holland. It is a Province of the Netherlands containing 3.7 million people. The cheese is made from cow's milk which has a unique dense and springy texture combined with its caramel-like flavor.

Origin
In 1284, the first and oldest cheese was documented and still produced in the twenty-first century. In Dutch culture typically women were obligated for the creation process of Gouda cheese. The wives of farmers passing down skills to their daughters for generational production. Tourists attractions such as traditional cheese market displays the process in Gouda, South Holland. Master Gouda is what the cheese is named after. It was because of volume rather than the creation of Gouda cheese.

The cheese is not produced through factories and industrialization. However farmers today still use traditional unpasteurized milk to produce the cheese the last record of farmers practicing this was less than three hundred famers and their wives.

Gouda, South Holland obtained feudal rights in 14th century BC this meant Monopoly on goods, specifically on cheese markets. The cheese market rights now owned by Gouda, the only trades happening were located here. Buyers are able to sample cheeses in negotiation of a price. The ritual is now commenced with clapping of hands, then a shout or prices simultaneously from both parties until a mutual number is decided. The cheese is then transported by porters who would carry it onto the weighing house when the sale is finished.

Gouda cheese has many different variations today, but are all produced from the same foundation. There is a set process in manufacturing in industries than being handmade. From immature cheese at just four weeks, to young matured at ten weeks, to matured at twenty weeks, extra matured at nine months, to aged cheese at one year, and very old cheese at one year plus it takes a bit of time to produce this good.

Manufacturing
The ripening of gouda cheese will take anywhere between 60 days to 6 months

It should be noted that throughout the regions of the Netherlands, multiple manufacturers have their own special way of creating gouda cheese such as requiring that the cheese must weigh at least 20 kilograms and can be made only in the summer with cattle grazing in the Green Heart region, between the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. The general process for creating gouda is as follows:


 * 1) Pasteurizing the milk: This kills pathogenic bacteria. The milk is heated to 72 °C, followed by rapid cooling. Pasteurization is a legal requirement for cheese made in New Zealand and helps ensure a safe product.
 * 2) Forming the curd:
 * 3) * Bacterial culture is added to the milk in the vat at 29 °C to acidify the milk. The bacterial culture introduces ‘good’ bacteria, which play an important role throughout the manufacturing process. The temperature creates ideal conditions for the bacteria to grow, and the acidic environment helps prevent foreign bacterial contamination.
 * 4) * Rennet is added to the milk when it reaches a certain ph. This causes casein protein in the milk to coagulate and separate from the liquid whey.
 * 5) Cutting the curd: When the coagulum is firm – it shows a clean break when tested – cutting blades stir through the coagulum to cut it into small pieces. Cutting the curd allows more whey to escape and lowers the moisture content of the final cheese. Gouda is a semi-hard cheese so the curds are cut relatively small compared to softer cheeses to release more moisture.
 * 6) Releasing the whey: When the curds are small enough, which they test by feeling the curd size in their hands, the cutting attachments are changed for stirring attachments. A large portion of the whey is released from the vat, then hot water is added and the temperature is raised while stirring continuously. Diluting the whey and raising the temperature helps release more whey from the curd.
 * 7) Molding: When the curds are firm enough – Meyer’s old and vintage Goudas require a firmer curd than their milder cheeses – they are compressed to squeeze out more whey and help them bind together. The compressed curd is marked out, cut into blocks, placed into molds and pressed.

After cultured milk is curdled, the whey drained and water is mixed in to create a sweeter cheese, this prosses is called "washing the curd". As the washing removes some of the lactose, resulting in a reduction of lactic acid produced. About 10% of the mixture is curds, which are pressed into circular molds for several hours. These molds are the essential reason behind its traditional, characteristic shape. The cheese is then soaked in a brine solution, which gives the cheese and its rind a distinctive taste.

The cheese is dried for a few days before being coated with a yellow plastic coating to prevent it from drying out, then it is aged, during which process the cheese changes from semi-hard to hard.

Dutch cheese manufactures mainly use six scales, or classes, to classify the cheese:


 * 1) Immature cheese (4 weeks)
 * 2) Young matured (8–10 weeks)
 * 3) Matured (16–18 weeks)
 * 4) Extra matured (7–9 months)
 * 5) Aged cheese (10–12 months)
 * 6) Very old cheese (12 months and more)

As it ages, it produces a caramel sugariness and has a slight crunchiness from cheese crystals, especially in more aged cheeses. The taste of the cheese is heavily reliant on the age of the cheese, for example young cheese may have a "light fudgy nutty" flavor while more matured or aged cheese would have a fruity, tangy, sweet, or even butterscotch type flavor.

Nutritional value
With Gouda cheese holding about 100 calories and about 7.1 grams of protein in one ounce of cheese, this cheese is great for you. it also lasts a very long time when it comes to how old the cheese is. This cheese takes about 3-6 months to expire and mold because of how natural it is. Gouda cheese comes from cows and the naturalness of it helps with how long it is willing to be good and safe to eat. When you keep Gouda cheese refrigerated that is the best way to keep it fresh and healthy also.

Gouda cheese has a fat content (in dry matter) of 76%, about 31 g/100g, with a calcium content of 958 mg/100g. In general, cheese is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of calcium, protein, phosphorus, sodium and saturated fat. A 28-gram (one ounce) serving of cheddar cheese contains about 7 grams (0.25 oz) of protein and 202 milligrams of calcium.


 * Water: 41.5g
 * Energy: 356 kcal
 * Protein: 24.9g
 * Fat: 27.4g
 * Carbohydrate: 2.22g
 * Sugar: 2.22g
 * Calcium: 700 mg
 * Magnesium: 29 mg
 * Phosphorus: 546 mg
 * Potassium: 121 mg
 * Sodium: 819 mg
 * Folate: 21 μg

Health Benefits
Good for bone and joint health Gouda holds an abundant amount of calcium provided for bone density.

Heart Health is because of the saturated fats, vitamin D, and protein.

Rich in potassium and carbohydrates to help digestion.

Antioxidant, sensory, and oxidation stability.