The Netherlands is of course well-known for its cheese. People immediately picture the cheese market in Alkmaar where workers in traditional costumes carry sleds of round cheeses stacked up high from one place to another across the market, tourist phones taking video of everything as they go. But people also immediately recognize the names of the cities where the cheese comes from.
Edam is a city in the northern section of the province of North Holland. It is now connected with the city of Volendam. Even with two cities combined it only has 37,000 inhabitants. The city was originally on the river E, which was sometimes pronounced or spelled IJe. This is where the name comes from - the city is where the E has a dam, Edam.
The city originated in 1230 where the dam had been built to stop the Zuiderzee. All of the goods being brought in had to be loaded over the dam, so this place became a business opportunity for building ships, fishing for eel and dealing cheese. The city gained rights in 1357, but it was in the 16th century that the cheese market became the engine for the economy.
Edam cheese usually comes as a red a ball and is a hard cheese. The red covering is a wax cover. It is well known since the Dutch carried it around the world during the Golden Age of Dutch trade. Ij 2010 it received recognition as a protected brand of cheese. It must be made in the Netherlands from Dutch cows’ milk.
Gouda is a city in the province of South Holland in the center of the country and has about 76,000 inhabitants. The name of the city comes from the river, the Gouwe. This river and the area is mentioned in Latin writings from the 12th century. This Latin name has remained as the name of the city, making Gouda the only city in The Netherlands which retains its Latin roots.
The inhabitants of Gouda are called “cheese heads”, which might also be used to yell at inhabitants of Alkmaar. But Gouda was known in the past for many activities. At the end of the 15th century the city had the largest beer production of all of Europe. But in the Middle Ages Gouda was broadly known for dealing in cheese. The name of Gouda is not protected, so any cheese can call itself Gouda these days. The yellow cheese gets its color from anatto which comes from South America.
Alkmaar is where most tourists will go to observe a cheese market. The city is in the province of North Holland and holds the cheese market every week from April to September. As mentioned, these inhabitants are also called “cheese heads” (like so many good people from Wisconsin and supporters of the Green Bay Packers). The cheese market has been around for 400 years and is visited by more than 100,00 people every year.
In the 18th century the market was held 4 days a week, lasting to 1:00 in the morning. Since 1939 Alkmaar is now the only city where cheese is traded in the traditional manner. The market begins at 10:00 and the cheese are brought to the scale to be weighed. They are then checked for quality and buyers haggle over a price, closing the deal by clapping hands together. The market is finished by 12:30 and the workers and tourist move on to other things for the day.
What kind of cheese do you like? Did you know that Belgium is also famous for their cheeses (albeit very different kinds)? Have you ever been to one of these cities?
