The making of Gouda cheese with herbs

Introduction, Milking, Gouda Cheese, Fresh Cheese

Gouda cheese with herbs

The pictures below show how Gouda cheese with herbs can made at home. Mind you, this is not a course in cheese making, just an impression. If you like this page, please link to it, do not copy without asking permission first. If you have an interesting site or blog on making cheese or (the history of) food in general, let me know and I’ll link back.

How to make herb cheese

Only dried, organic herbs are used for making herb cheese. These are cooked in some water for five minutes.The herbs you can use are: cumin, nettles, celery, onion and garlic, or whatever you fancy. The production is the same as of classic Gouda cheese, but after the second adding of hot water (for goat cheese water is only added once) the herbs are mixed with the curd, together with the water in which they were cooked. The curd with herbs is put in cheese-forms. The process is the same as with making Gouda cheese. Never use fresh herbs, as the cheese will spoil. The cheeses in the pictures were made with goat’s milk.

Beeldverslag van het maken van kruidenkaas

The prepared herbs. Top row left to right: celery, fenugreek, onion-and-garlic. Bottom row left to right: spicy mixture, nettle, cumin.
Curd of goat milk. Now the herbs are added.
The spiced curd is scooped into cheese moulds by hand.
The very young cheese is demoulded after a couple of minutes and turned before putting back.
A herb cheese demoulded for turning halfway during the pressing stage.
Six pressed herb cheeses before curing.
The six herb cheeses in brine. On top cumin cheese, then left to right celery, nettles and onion/garlic, below spicy herbs and fenugreek.
The six herb cheeses in the ripening cabinet, behind an insect screen. They have to ripen at least six weeks, but six months is also possible, depending on how old you want your cheese. The cheeses are turned over regularly during this process.

Published on 25 August 2002Laatste wijziging 2 December 2019