Landana 1000 Day – Holland
I was shopping at my local Michael-Angelos Market Place in Mississauga (Ontario, Canada) when I came across Landana 1,000 Days Aged Gouda cheese. They were promoting this cheese in the cheese case with a large eye-catching sign.
The advertising worked … they had my attention. I thought it was odd putting an “It’s New” sign on this very old cheese. I was thinking an “It’s Very Old” sign would be more appropriate, none-the-less I decided to bring some home for a try.
Landana 1,000 days aged Gouda comes from Holland and is a brand of the Vandersterre Group. It is a cow’s milk cheese. The cheese is formed into 20 pound wheels. The attraction, and uniqueness, of this cheese is obvious … 1,000 days of aging. The cheese spends 2.7 years maturing on untreated wooden shelves. During aging it loses 25% of it’s original weight as moisture leaves and the flavor builds.
What does Landana 1,000 day aged Gouda taste like? It’s awesome. I love everything about this cheese; the colour, the texture, the smell, the flavour. This is a hard cheese although not quite as firm as Parmesan Reggiano. The cheese has a nutty, sweet, salty, caramel flavor. It is loaded with flavour but it is not overwhelming. There are tiny crunchy protein crystals in this cheese that provide a very pleasant and interesting texture. I found this cheese to be somewhat similar to Beemster XO.
I would suggest pairing Landana 1,000 Days Aged Gouda with fruit such as grapes or apples. This Gouda is good.
I’ve just started buying this cheese, and absolutely love it. My husband was “suspicious” when I tried to make him try a piece…something about me being a crazy (ethnic Dutch) person who eats zoute haring met uitjes! Having said that, he was pleasantly surprised, and now loves it as well. I strongly recommend this cheese.
If you’re in Amsterdam and get the chance try a visit here: http://www.kaashuistromp.nl/winkels.html – they have a wide variety of aged Goudas and other cheeses to sample at your leisure
Landana 1009 Days Aged Gouda is fantastic. It is such a full flavor you don’t need much. I love it on plain crackers such as Stone Ground and a glass of red wine. It is awesome!!