Gouda cheese, made the Dutch way
How Gouda cheese is made in the Netherlands, from pasteurising the milk to pressing the wheel, explained by Riet Dairy, Dutch builders of dairy equipment since 1888.
Why the Netherlands sets the standard for Gouda
The Netherlands has been making Gouda for centuries. The cheese takes its name from the city of Gouda, where farmers brought their wheels to the cheese market to be weighed and traded. Today Gouda is made all over the world, but the Dutch method is still the reference: carefully pasteurised milk, washed curd and pressing under whey.
Those first steps decide the quality of the cheese. They are also where Riet Dairy has specialised for more than a century: pasteurisers, cheese vats and the equipment to press the curd into Gouda wheels, for farmhouse cheese makers and dairies alike.
Three steps that make the cheese
1. Pasteurisation
The milk is heated to kill harmful bacteria and cooled to the right temperature for cheese making.
2. Curd making
Cultures and rennet turn milk into curd. Part of the whey is replaced with warm water: the typical Gouda curd wash.
3. Pressing
The curd is pre-pressed under whey, filled into moulds and pressed into the familiar Gouda wheel.
Equipment from Nieuwkoop
Riet Dairy designs, builds and installs its equipment in Nieuwkoop, in the heart of the Dutch dairy region. Simple, well-thought-out constructions keep breakdowns to a minimum and need little maintenance.
- Batch pasteurisers from 32 to 264 Gallons (120 to 1,000 litres)
- Continuous flow pasteurisers for larger volumes
- Open cheese vats from 32 to 264 Gallons (120 to 2,500 litres)
- Closed, automated cheese vats from 790 to 3,170 Gallons (3,000 to 12,000 litres)
- Pre-pressing, moulds and presses
Planning a Gouda cheese dairy?
Tell us about your milk volume, cheese formats and plans. We will come back to you with a proposal for the equipment that fits your dairy.
