Estimated Reading Time: 8 min

Dutch roots, with a name borrowed from a market

Artikaas Vintage Lot 36 is a cow’s milk Gouda made in the Netherlands and aged for three years. That long rest turns a familiar sandwich cheese style into something better suited to small shards, slow tasting and a good drink.

Gouda takes its name from the Dutch town where the cheese was historically weighed and traded, not from a rule that every wheel had to be made there. Today, cheesemakers around the world produce Gouda. The name alone does not guarantee Dutch origin.

Two European protections help distinguish particular Dutch versions: Gouda Holland, a Protected Geographical Indication, and Noord-Hollandse Gouda, a Protected Designation of Origin. Their rules govern geographic origin and production. These are specific certifications, not automatic labels for every Dutch Gouda.

Terroir Tales: A landscape built for dairy

The Netherlands’ mild maritime climate and steady rainfall support grass-growing country. Dairy farming, cheesemaking and cheese trading developed together there over centuries. Vintage Lot 36 belongs to that Dutch tradition, though its character depends on the cheesemaker’s work and patient aging as well as the milk.

What goes into the wheel?

The starting point is pasteurized whole cow’s milk. Milk proteins form the cheese’s framework, while milk fat contributes richness and helps carry its aromas.

Holstein-Friesian cattle are central to Dutch dairying, but a breed name is not essential to understanding this cheese. For shoppers, the useful distinctions are milk species, heat treatment and rennet type.

Rennet is the enzyme preparation that helps milk set into curds. Vintage Lot 36 is sold with vegetarian microbial rennet specifications. If vegetarian suitability is important to you, check the current package or ask the cheesemonger to confirm the supplier’s ingredient list. Microbial rennet and fermentation-produced chymosin are related options for animal-free coagulation, but they are not interchangeable technical terms.

Ingredient and allergen check: This is a dairy cheese and contains milk. Check the wrapper for the complete ingredient list, including cultures, salt, enzymes and any coloring. Long aging generally leaves little lactose, but that does not make cheese safe for someone with a milk-protein allergy.

Artikaas also highlights sustainability efforts across its Dutch farming network, including renewable energy and uses for whey, the liquid separated from curds. Those are worthwhile practices. They should not, however, be confused with an organic certification or a farm-specific guarantee for every wedge.

Pasteurization and the washed-curd method

Pasteurization heats milk to reduce harmful microbes. It does not sterilize milk, nor does it prevent flavor from developing later. Starter cultures help acidify the milk, and enzymes continue transforming the cheese during ripening.

Gouda’s defining technique is curd washing. Here is the short version:

1. Cultures and rennet help turn milk into a gel-like curd.
2. The cheesemaker cuts the curd so whey can drain away.
3. Some whey is removed and replaced with water, washing out part of the lactose, or milk sugar.
4. With less lactose available, bacteria produce less lactic acid.
5. The curds are formed into wheels, pressed, salted and aged.

That lower-acid starting point helps explain why aged Gouda often tastes rounded and sweet-savory rather than sharply tangy. It does not mean the cheesemaker has added caramel.

Also worth knowing: Washed-curd cheese is not the same as washed-rind cheese. One describes work inside the vat; the other describes treatment of a cheese’s surface during aging.

What 36 months changes

Three years is a substantial commitment to a wheel of cheese. During that time, moisture gradually leaves, proteins break into smaller compounds, and flavor becomes more concentrated.

Dutch age terms offer a useful guide. Jong means young, often around four weeks old. Belegen describes a more mature cheese, commonly about four months old. Oud generally refers to roughly 10 to 12 months. Overjarig describes cheese aged beyond a year. Exact retail age bands can vary.

Vintage Lot 36 sits firmly in that last group. It is also a hard, washed-curd, aged Gouda and a good example of brokkelkaas, a Dutch term for crumbly cheese. These labels describe different aspects of the same wedge, not competing identities.

Its low moisture makes it firm enough to grate and brittle enough to break into chunks. Yet it still contains water. The creamy finish comes partly from milk fat softening as the cheese warms in your mouth.

You may also see 48+ on Dutch Gouda labels. That refers to fat in dry matter: At least 48% of the solids left after removing the water are fat. It does not mean the whole cheese is 48% fat.

For nutrition, use the label on your purchase rather than a generic Gouda chart. Aging concentrates nutrients, including protein, fat and sodium. A 1-ounce portion is a useful starting point for tasting this rich cheese.

Taste the butterscotch, then wait for the savory finish

The first impression is often browned butter, toasted nuts and butterscotch. As you chew, a deeper savory flavor emerges, sometimes recalling broth. A long finish may suggest dried fruit, roasted coffee or whiskey.

Those are tasting comparisons, not added ingredients. A whiskey-like note does not mean the cheese contains whiskey, and a butterscotch aroma does not establish added sugar.

Much of the change comes from proteolysis, the breakdown of proteins, and lipolysis, the breakdown of fats. The plain-English result: Aging creates smaller compounds that contribute taste and aroma. Glutamate, one product of protein breakdown, helps supply umami, the savory taste also found in mushrooms and broth.

You do not need to find every flavor on a tasting list. Start with three questions: Does it seem sweet or salty first? Which nut does it remind you of? How long does the flavor last?

That crunch is part of the pleasure

Inside, expect a dense golden-to-amber paste. Here, paste simply means the body of the cheese beneath its outer coating. It tends to fracture rather than bend, so neat, thin slices can be an exercise in misplaced optimism.

Break off small, uneven pieces instead.

The pale, crunchy specks are often crystals of tyrosine, an amino acid released as proteins break down. Calcium lactate crystals can also occur in aged cheeses. These deposits are not simply grains of salt, and they are not automatically signs of mold.

The contrast is the attraction: firm bite, little crunch, then a rich finish. Cheese crystals have attracted scientific study because their appearance and makeup reveal changes during aging. For the rest of us, they make a small piece unusually satisfying.

Build a board without burying the cheese

After a cold day near Wolf Creek or a long afternoon outside Pagosa Springs, this is an easy cheese to put out while dinner comes together. It needs fewer companions than you might think.

For two people, start with 2 to 3 ounces of cheese, a ripe pear, a handful of unsalted walnuts and plain crackers. Add a small spoonful of fig jam if you want a sweeter direction.

Pear supplies juice and freshness. Walnuts echo the toasted flavors. Fig jam or honey offers a sweet contrast to the salt, but use a light hand. The cheese already has plenty to say.

For a savory plate, try a little prosciutto or a few capers. Both add salt, so avoid piling them on together. For dessert, pair small shards with dark chocolate, roasted hazelnuts and a little orange zest.

Pro Pairing Tip: Serve a little, then replenish

Cut off the portion you plan to eat and let it stand, covered, for about 30 minutes before serving. Keep the rest refrigerated. Remove any wax or plastic coating before eating.

For summer picnics, carry the cheese in a cooler. Limit time without refrigeration to two hours, or one hour when temperatures exceed 90 F. A mountain breeze is pleasant, but it is not refrigeration.

When shopping in Pagosa Springs, ask at Murray’s Cheese inside City Market about Vintage Lot 36 availability. If it is not in the case, request a similarly long-aged Dutch Gouda.

Wine: Start with tawny port

Tawny port is my first choice for a small after-dinner plate. Its nutty, dried-fruit and caramel flavors meet the cheese on familiar ground, while its sweetness contrasts with the salt. A 10- or 20-year tawny is a sensible place to start.

Prefer dry wine? Try Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon with mellow tannins. The cheese can soften the impression of astringency, but a very tannic bottle may still dominate. Big cheese does not always require the biggest red.

A full-bodied, oaked Chardonnay offers another route. Buttery notes can echo the cheese, while acidity provides a refreshing contrast. Choose one with some freshness rather than oak alone.

Pro Pairing Tip: Test before you commit

Taste the cheese alone, take a sip, then taste the cheese again. A good pairing should leave both enjoyable. If all you notice is alcohol, bitterness or sugar, change the drink rather than blaming your palate.

Beer: Give malt the lead

A Dutch-style bock makes a natural match, with toasted malt and gentle sweetness alongside Gouda’s nutty character.

A porter or stout brings coffee and cocoa notes into play. A balanced version is often more useful than an intensely sweet or high-alcohol one, especially if the board includes chocolate.

For a less weighty pairing, choose an amber ale with caramel malt flavor and restrained bitterness. Its fizz offers a refreshing contrast between bites.

Skipping alcohol? Try sparkling water alongside pear slices, or unsweetened black tea with the dessert plate.

Cook with it, but respect its age

Grate Vintage Lot 36 over roasted vegetables, pasta or a salad of sturdy greens. Small amounts add a lot of flavor, so taste before adding more salt.

It also works in puff pastry with fig jam and prosciutto. Keep the filling modest so the pastry can bake through without becoming heavy.

Aged Gouda will soften and melt, but its low moisture means it may release oil rather than form a smooth, stretchy sauce. For grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese, combine it with a younger, better-melting cheese. Let the young cheese handle texture and the older one supply depth.

Keep the good crunch, watch for spoilage

Wrap the cut cheese in cheese paper or parchment, then place it in a food-storage bag or container to limit drying. Refrigerate at 40 F or below and follow the package’s storage guidance. Pagosa’s dry air makes leaving a wedge uncovered especially unkind to its cut face.

Normal features include brittle cracks, hard crystalline specks and a little surface oil as the cheese warms. Warning signs include new fuzzy growth, slime, or a strong, unpleasant ammonia or rancid smell.

Appearance and smell cannot prove food is safe. Do not taste suspicious cheese to check it.

For a solid block of hard cheese with a small spot of surface mold, USDA guidance allows cutting away at least 1 inch around and below the mold, keeping the knife out of it. Discard moldy shredded, sliced or crumbled cheese. With widespread growth, mold extending through cracks, or too little cheese to trim safely, discard the piece.

A few details worth sharing at the table

Vintage Lot 36 earned gold at the 2024 World Cheese Awards and silver in 2025. It also received a 2026 sofi Gold Award from the Specialty Food Association. Awards are a useful introduction, though your own taste remains the deciding vote.

Artikaas also offers Vintage Lot 18 and Vintage Lot 60. Tasting different ages side by side is a practical way to explore how Gouda changes, from a gentler bite toward a firmer, more concentrated cheese. Older is not automatically better. Sometimes you want a sandwich; sometimes you want three memorable bites after dinner.

Say Artikaas roughly as AHR-tih-kahs. Gouda is commonly GOO-duh in the United States; HOW-duh is a closer English approximation of the Dutch pronunciation, though the Dutch initial consonant is more guttural. Brokkelkaas is roughly BROK-uhl-kahs.

No pronunciation exam required. Ask for a taste, buy a small wedge and give those three years a little time on your tongue.

Sources and Further Reading

• Vintage Lot 36, Artikaas. Product details and serving suggestions.
• Gouda Holland PGI / Noord-Hollandse Gouda PDO, European Commission. Dutch origins and protected names.
• Aged Gouda: A Washed-Curd Cheese, Academy of Cheese. Production and maturation.
• What Are Cheese Crystals?, Culture: The Word on Cheese. The science behind the crunch.
• Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous?, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Safe handling and mold guidance.