Holy crap!
This is a thing?
This actually exists in reality?
I had to buy some.
Yes! Aged Gouda is amazing, and a completely different thing from non-aged Gouda. Almost a caramel-like sweetness with funky undertones, and those “flavor crystals” that add a nice crunch. I first tried 1000 day old Gouda a few years ago, and wasn’t sure what to think- the funkiness was much more apparent to me than it is now, and I wonder if it was something about that particular batch. But it quickly became my favorite type of cheese.
I’ve tried 5 year old Gouda I bought online, and it was good, but not much better than the 1000 day- there seem to be diminishing returns after 1000 days. Two year old Gouda is acceptable, but anything younger than that, forget it.
Yes, I know the thread is almost 6 years old, but it’s still on topic. IMHO, anyway.
Well, it’s taken a few years but I finally got some elder swiss cheese again, at Cedar Valley. This time it’s ‘only’ 6 years old, but that’s 4 years older than anything I’ve found recently. I haven’t cracked it open yet, but soon, very soon.
I also scored some factory fresh string cheese from Cedar Valley, and it remains my favorite. Plus a nearly 1 lb chunk of 18 year old cheddar, marked down to $42 due to their need to sell it due to its upcoming ‘best buy’ date, which is at most a year after they crack the sample out of its cheese wheel and package it for sale. A great time to swoop in and get a bargain on the old stuff.
Meanwhile, some of my cheddar in the cheese drawer is now 25 years old, so it’ll probably be cracked open at the next family reunion.
We also tried some Pont L’eveque cheese we picked up not long ago. Sadly, it had a whiff of ammonia to it, which was off-putting. Should of tried it sooner.
Further cheese updates as events warrant.