Kaasbar Amsterdam, heaven for cheese lovers.

Finally, a place that I have been looking for. Stylish, great variety of local artisan cheese, good cheese-wine pairing recommendations ( thankfully not forced) and great service.

I love that finally a place could come over the idea of farm cheese presented on farms next cows, barns and the lovely land. Don’t get me wrong, I love farms and animals, but bringing a great variety of cheese, knowledge about cheese and the chance to choose really unique, tasty and rich cheese and enjoying them with great wines is something extremely important to create the demand for good cheese. As long as people are only given the chance to buy packaged, sliced cheese in supermarkets we cannot really expect them to have a better understanding of cheese or have the craving to try something new, something lot more of quality, lot more exciting.

That’s why I would highly recommend the Kaasbar in Amsterdam. If you are in town you got to try it.!

Here are some hints from the experience and the cheese I tried so far, although I am probably going to be back soon to try the whole variety.

What I tried ( from left to right) :

1.Brabants Blauw with medjool date & grasshopper (from Bastiansen)

2. Boeren Mulder Vergeten Kaas with red pesto & zucchini spaghetti (from Mulder)

3. Reade Jutter with onion chutney & red beetroot, seeds and pips ( from De Terschellinger)

4. Le petit Doruvael Truffel with lemon curd & red pepper fried spring rolls ( from Boerderij Doruvael)

Cheesy trips in Dutchland #1

I have been traveling a lot to Amsterdam recently due to my new job and to be honest I am more than blown away by the tremendous amount of delicious cheese I can get there.

Basically what we know about Dutch cheese here in Hungary has nothing to do with the repertoire available there in the specialty cheese store.

So I decided to make sort of an introduction of the things I tasted and planning on tasting during my trips also to make new recipes and pairings with my favorite ones so that you can enjoy them just the way I would do. 🙂

So here you go at 1st the Truffle Gouda as my all-time sweetheart.

31068912_10215029227499152_2960377655548968960_n

Step #1: What is this?

Dutch farmhouse cheese (boerenkaas) made of raw milk with Italian black truffle from the mountains. Ripened on wooden planks for only 8 weeks the gentle taste of this Gouda and intense aroma of the truffle form an unlikely, yet irresistible combination.

Step #2:  What the hell is boerenkaas?

Boerenkaas is the Dutch word that’s equivalent to “farmstead” cheese. That is, cheese made from the milk of animals who live on the same farm where the cheese is made. However, the word Boerenkaas also goes one step further, requiring that all cheese labeled as Boerenkaas must also be made with raw (unpasteurized) milk.

31117774_10215029208578679_5335525962152935424_n

Only a small percentage of Dutch Gouda can be called Boerenkaas.

Step#3:  Pairing ideas with wine

Since it has a really unique and mature taste itself it should be served with either an elegant, not-too-oaky, aged Chardonnay or a nicely-evolved, textured dry Riesling.

If you are in Holland for holiday or work I would recommend not to miss out on this delicious darling, but if you have no time to go the specialty store, you can always order it online 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source:

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-aged-gouda-591221

https://www.cheesehub.com/product/truffle-gouda-25411