Look up Gouda or gouda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. If an internal link led you here, you may gouda cheese to change the link to point directly to the intended article. The first mention of Gouda cheese dates from 1184, making it one of the oldest recorded cheeses in the world still made today.
Cheesemaking traditionally was a woman’s task in Dutch culture, with farmers’ wives passing their cheesemaking skills on to their daughters. The cheese is named after the master of Gouda, not because it was produced in or around that city, but because it was traded there. Various sources suggest that the term Gouda refers more to a general style of cheesemaking rather than to a specific kind of cheese, pointing to its taste, which varies with age. After cultured milk is curdled, some of the whey is then drained and water is added. This is called “washing the curd”, and creates a sweeter cheese, as the washing removes some of the lactose, resulting in a reduction of lactic acid produced. 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. As it ages, it develops a caramel sweetness and has a slight crunchiness from cheese crystals, especially in older cheeses.