Making Aged Artisan Gouda requires expertise and craftmanship. There are few farmers who master this craft. Two of them have a dairy farm in the western part of the Netherlands, the so-called Groene Hart and make the Aged Artisan Gouda on their own premises for a few months a year.
The cheese farm of the Captein family is situated on the border of the Groene Hart in the Grote Polder of Zoeterwoude, in rural Weipoort…
Hugo and Marije van der Poel live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Their farm, Hoeve Waterrijk, is located on a…
Zoeterwoude
The cheese farm of the Captein family is situated on the border of the Groene Hart in the Grote Polder of Zoeterwoude, in rural Weipoort…
Rijpwetering
Hugo and Marije van der Poel live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Their farm, Hoeve Waterrijk, is located on a…..
The cheese is laid in the affineurs warehouse. The cheese is placed on wooden shelfs in rooms with a low temperature (13 to 15°C) and high humidity (82 to 86%). Here, the affineur brushes, coats and turns the cheese for at least 18 months until it has developed its characteristic rich, full-bodied taste and creaminess. There are two different affineurs looking after the Aged Artisan Cheese, they know the cheese through and through.
Farmers son Kees Remijn dug into dairy technology at a young age. After working in a dairy for several years, Kees converted his cellar into a cheese storage and started working as a cheese merchant. With a car full of cheese and a head full of knowledge, he crossed the whole country. Soon the cellar was no longer big enough and he moved his cheese to a warehouse in Kerkdriel, where it has been situated for 40 years now.
Arie Blok was raised in a family of cheese lovers. From a farm in Woerden, his great-grandparents sold cattle feed to the surrounding farms. They were paid in… cheese! The cheese was kept by them in a cheese warehouse. When the Dutch guilder became legal tender in 1898, Blok Kaashandel was founded, having the right know-how to do the job.
