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Fermentation Atlas

Washed-curd cheeses

Part of the whey swapped for warm water, then brined, as for Gouda and Edam.

40 entries listed here.

How these cheeses are made

The shared make of washed-curd cheese family (gouda as template). Each cheese below says what it does differently.

  1. Set the milk with starter and rennet35 min · 30 °C
  2. Cut and stir the curd20 min
  3. Wash the curd with warm water1.3 h · 35–40 °C
  4. Mould and press3.1 h
  5. Brine24 h · 13 °C · 18 % salt
  6. Coat and ripen on cheese boardsat least 28 days · at least 12 °C

Compare them

CheeseRegionMilkRipeningRind
BoerenkaasNetherlandsRaw milk, mainly from the farm's own herdAt least 13 days at 12 °C or more
ButterkäseGermany and AustriaNo legal minimum age in Germany; ripened at about 10 °C in Austria
ColbyUnited StatesCow milk, pasteurised or raw; raw-milk cheese is cured at least 60 daysUS standard: at least 60 days at no less than 35 °F if the milk is not pasteurised
Danbo PGIDenmarkPasteurised cow milk2–4 weeks at 7–21 °C for the typical flavour and texture; older Danbo is stronger
Edam Holland PGINetherlandsDutch farm milk standardised to 40–44% fat in dry matterNatural ripening at 12 °C or more for at least 28 days (baby at least 21 days)
Friese Nagelkaas (Kanternagelkaas PDO)Netherlands, Friesland and the WesterkwartierAt least 4 weeks at 12 °C or more; eaten from 4 weeks to over a year old
FynboDenmark, the island of FunenCow milkAt least six weeks before sale (Mini-Fynbo four weeks)Hard, dry, yellow; may be waxed or plastic-coated
Gouda Holland PGI / Noord-Hollandse Gouda PDONetherlandsDutch farm milk cooled to 6 °C or less, at the dairy within 96 h, pasteurised at 72 °C or more for 15 sNatural ripening on cheese boards (mostly traditional wooden ones) at 12 °C or more for at least 28 days; foil ripening is excluded
HavartiDenmarkPasteurised cow milk only (PGI)With rind: 1–2 weeks at 14–18 °C, then 1–3 weeks at 8–12 °C; rindless: 3 weeks at 12–20 °C (2014 PGI text)
HushållsostSweden2 monthsHard, tough, dry (paraffin); straw-yellow to yellow
Innichner Bergkäse (Montagna San Candido)Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Prov. Bolzanoat least 2 monthsEdible, thin, elastic, intense straw
JarlsbergNorwayCow milk (Wikipedia)at least 3 months
Kanterkaas PDONetherlands, Friesland and the WesterkwartierPasteurised cow milk from Friesland and the WesterkwartierAt least four weeks at 12 °C or moreSmooth and free of mould; natural or coated colourless or yellow (red allowed for the caraway cheese)
Leidse Kaas PDO (Boeren-Leidse met sleutels)Netherlands, polder districts around Leiden in the Oude Rijn basinat least 13 days
Maasdam / LeerdammerNetherlandsPasteurised cow milk, standardised for fat and proteinAbout 10 days cool, 3 weeks in a warm room, then cold storage up to 150 days in one make
MariboDenmarkat least 42 daysSemi-hard to hard, dry, may be waxed or plastic-coated; square blocks are also made rindless
Mimolette (extra-vieille)FrancePasteurised cow milkAt least 13 months for vieille and 18 months for extra-vieille (Label Rouge); jeune is 3–6 months
Monterey JackUnited StatesPasteurised cow milk, nonfat milk or creamTypically 3–6 weeks
Pepper JackUSA
Pinzgauer BierkäseAustria, Salzburg42 daysSmooth, crack-free, moist to dried yellow to red-brown smear; sometimes peppered
Queijo do ReinoBrazilPasteurised, standardised cow milkTraditionally 40 days; the study followed cheeses to 156 daysThin, smooth, painted red or pink, with or without paraffin
Queso chancoChilePasteurised cow milk in dairy practiceShort, about 21 days
Rossiysky (Russian cheese)Russia and other former Soviet statesat least 2 months
SamsøDenmarkNormally from 3 weeks at 8–17 °C for cheese ready to eat
Svecia PGISweden, the low-lying areas all over the countryPasteurised cow milkAt least 2 monthsWaxed
Trappista (Hungary)Hungary and the former YugoslaviaCow milk, which may be skimmed, part-skimmed or membrane-adjusted, with cream allowed4 weeks at 12 ± 1 °C and 85 % relative humidity in one lab make
TyboMERCOSUR countriesPasteurised milk standardised in fat (the standard says only "milk"; Wikipedia says cow's milk)At least 25 days
MolboDenmarkCow milk and other bovine milk productsAt least 3 weeks
PrästostSwedenCow milk12–18 months
Beemster (polder Gouda)Beemster polder, North Holland, NetherlandsCow milk from grass grown on sea clay in a polder 4 m below sea level (outline only)
Bruder BasilGermany, BavariaPasteurised cow milkNot published
CooleaIreland, Co. Corkcow milkAt least 4 months, up to 18 months
Gammel KnasDenmarkcow milkmore than 24 months
Kalimpong cheeseIndia, West BengalCow milk
Karaván (füstölt sajt)Hungary
KryddostSweden9–10 months
NøkkelostNorwayCow milkEight weeks (rindless) to at least three months (rinded)
NorvegiaNorwayAbout 3 months (Original), about 9 months (Vellagret)
OltermanniFinlandcow milk
TurunmaaFinlandPasteurised cow milk2 months or more (cheese database)

Bold names have a full page with the animated steps. Blank cells: no sourced value yet.

Short entries

What the sources record about each of these so far.

Beemster (polder Gouda)Beemster polder, North Holland, Netherlands

Also called Beemster kaas, Beemster cheese.

Beemster is a Gouda-type cow-milk cheese made by the CONO cooperative from milk of grass grown on sea clay in the Beemster polder. Its production is similar to Gouda, with the curd stirred by hand and the cheeses ripened under changing temperature and humidity.

Milk
Cow milk from grass grown on sea clay in a polder 4 m below sea level (outline only)
Method
Production similar to Gouda; curd stirred by hand; ripened under changing temperature and humidity (outline only)
Scale
About 475 farmers and about 30,000 tonnes of Beemster a year (outline only)

Made like Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template).

Bruder BasilGermany, Bavaria

Also called Rauchkäse, Basils Original Rauchkäse, Basil's smoked cheese.

Bruder Basil is a branded Bavarian smoked cheese from the Bergader dairy. It is a semi-soft cheese of pasteurised cow milk, smoked until the rind turns brown. The maker publishes no recipe, so the steps of the base cheese and the smoking are not known.

Milk
Pasteurised cow milk
Smoke
Smoked over birch and spruce wood, giving a brown rind
Fat
25.5 % fat as sold (cheese.com listing)
Ripening
Not published
  1. Make a semi-soft cheese
  2. Smoke
CooleaIreland, Co. Cork

A Gouda-type farmhouse cheese made in Co. Cork. Milk is heated and set with a starter and rennet; the curd is cut, drained, washed with water and reheated, then pressed six hours, brined and coated in wax. It ripens at least four months and is sold up to a year and a half old.

Milk
cow milk
Ripening
At least 4 months, up to 18 months
  1. Heat the milk and set
  2. Cut and drain
  3. Wash and reheat the curd
  4. Press6 h
  5. Brine and wax
  6. Ripen4–18 months
Gammel KnasDenmark

Gammel Knas is an Arla Unika cheese from the Nr. Vium dairy in Denmark, which Arla calls an aged Havarti. It ripens for more than two years, long enough to form crunchy protein crystals and a sweet, sour and savoury taste.

Milk
cow milk
Ripening
more than 24 months

Made like Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template).

Kalimpong cheeseIndia, West Bengal

Also called Kalimpong Cheese, Kalimpong cheese, Homes Cheese (the Dr Graham's Homes version).

Kalimpong cheese is a European-style cow cheese, called Edam-like by a travel guide, that Swiss Jesuit missionaries brought to the eastern Himalaya. Father André Butty's Swiss Welfare Dairy made it from about 1945; today cheesemakers at Gitabling and the Dr Graham's Homes dairy keep it going. Its recipe, times and temperatures have not been published.

Milk
Cow milk
Type
European-style cheese, described in a travel guide as Edam-like
Size
Wikipedia gives 1 kg and 12 kg wheels; not confirmed elsewhere

Made like Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template).

Karaván (füstölt sajt)Hungary

Also called Karaván füstölt sajt, Karaván smoked cheese, Karavan.

Karaván is Hungary's best-known smoked cheese brand. Its classic product is a smoked processed cheese, made by melting cheese with water, skim milk powder, emulsifying salts, butter and salt, then smoked over beech logs. It is a processed product made from already fermented cheese, not a ferment of its own.

Type
Smoked processed cheese (Karaván Classic and Karaván sliced)
Composition
At least 45 % fat in dry matter; per 100 g about 27 g fat, 21 g protein and 2.9 g salt (Classic, label)
Storage
0 to +10 °C (label)
  1. Start from ripened cheese
  2. Melt with emulsifying salts
  3. Smoke over beech

Safety: A processed cheese made from already fermented cheese and heated during melting; the label says to keep it at 0 to +10 °C.

KryddostSweden

Also called Kryddost, Swedish spiced cheese, Swedish cumin and clove cheese.

Kryddost is a Swedish hard cheese made from pasteurised cow milk with a starter culture and rennet, with cumin and clove. A popular dairy version is aged nine to ten months into a granular, aromatic cheese.

Fat
31 % fat (Boxholm Kryddost 31 %)
Storage
The retailer sheet says to keep it at no more than +10 °C
  1. Set pasteurised milk with starter and rennet
  2. Add cumin and clove
  3. Age9–10 months

Safety: Made from pasteurised milk and kept at 10 °C or colder.

NøkkelostNorway

Also called nøkkelost, nøkkel, Norwegian key cheese, Nokkelost.

A semi-hard Norwegian cow-milk cheese with small round holes, spiced with cumin and cloves in the style of Dutch Leiden and nagelkaas cheese. The rindless type ripens about eight weeks and the rinded wheel at least three months.

Milk
Cow milk
Spices
Cumin and cloves
Ripening
Eight weeks (rindless) to at least three months (rinded)
Types
Rindless (27% fat by weight), light (16%) and rinded (17%)
  1. Make the curd and add the spices
  2. Mould and press
  3. Ripenat least 56 days
NorvegiaNorway

A Norwegian Gouda-type semi-hard cow cheese made by the TINE dairies, with small holes and a mild, slightly tart taste. It is ripened about three months for the standard cheese and about nine months for the aged vellagret type. Leuconostoc from the starter and the non-starter lactobacillus Lacticaseibacillus paracasei dominate the cheese as it ripens.

Type
Gouda-type (Dutch-type) semi-hard cow cheese
Ripening
About 3 months (Original), about 9 months (Vellagret)
  1. Add starter and rennet
  2. Cut, mould and press the curd
  3. Ripen3–9 months
OltermanniFinland

Oltermanni is a mild Finnish cow-milk cheese, first made in 1980 as a 75th anniversary gift for Valio's dairy farmers and sold in shops from 1981. It was developed at the Isokyrö cooperative dairy and is now made at Valio's Haapavesi factory from local milk.

Milk
cow milk
Size
small cylinder (1980 gift format)

Made like Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template).

TurunmaaFinland

Also called Turunmaa, Turunmaa kermajuusto, Valio Turunmaa.

Turunmaa is a mild, semi-hard Finnish cow-milk cheese of the full-fat kermajuusto kind, which its maker calls a tilsit-type cheese. It is made from pasteurised milk with salt and a starter culture and ripens for about two months or more.

Milk
Pasteurised cow milk
Ripening
2 months or more (cheese database)
Type
Semi-hard, tilsit type (maker's description)
Composition
Fat 32 g, protein 25 g and salt 1.6 g per 100 g (current label); a cheese database gives 50 % fat (likely in dry matter)

Made like Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template).

Safety: Made from pasteurised milk.

Numbers come from cited sources and carry a label that says how each is known. How this atlas is made