Ok, so I have read many post lately about how Great the Gouda cheese wheels are and how the prices on island are so great, What should I expect to pay for a wheel of cheese and are there any varieties I should try to find !

We paid 49.09 NAFL (about $28.) for each of two 4 kg (8.8 lb) wheels at Warehouse Bonaire in October, 2007 for their mild, yellow wax/yellow wrapped Gouda. I have heard that the price has gone up but I don't know by how much. (We only have half of one wheel left, so the left half of the label is missing. What shows is "ORTHHANDEL, B.V." and "N-HOLLAND", plus the back half of a chicken or rooster. Obviously there is additional name info I am missing)

Anyone offering to bring back a wheel for us?

Bonaire cheese is very very gouda.

With the Euro now at record highs the prices have increased almost 50%. Not so Gouda! (pronounced howda with a gh sound at the beginning)

I bought a half-wheel (1+ pounds) of Jong (young) Gouda at Warehouse for NAF18 (US$11) a few weeks ago.

Since we arrived on a Sunday morning, I bought a small wedge at Cultimara to keep up to Monday. It was NAF/kilo. Frankly, it was MUCH better than what we purchased at Warehouse. It was not as salty and much creamier, so I regretted the bulk Warehouse purchase. Later in the week, I ran to Warehouse a few minutes before the 6pm closing time and they wouldn't let me in the door, even though all I wanted was ketchup for my 10yo son (which I told them) and there were 2-3 people in line at each register. In true ugly-American style (hey, I work in NYC), I yelled at the guy and told him I would never shop there again...and I won't.

Bottom line, I would highly recommend the NAF/kilo gouda at Cultimara and not recommend shopping at Warehouse.

Sue

I just went to buy a half a wheel at Warehouse and it's 31,00 Ang. How did you find it for 18, I wonder? I find Tropical Flamingo's rates best for cheese.

Ann - you are probably right, my brain was thinking NAF18, but it was likely $18 = NAF31....either way I didn't like it as much as what I bought at Cultimara the day before. The slice from Cultimara was 0.3 kilo and it was gone in 24 hours...the 1+ kilos lasted the remaining 5+ days and we brought a big chunk home and finished a week later.

Prices vary with the brand and the age..Best are the brands from Tropical Flamingo, in my opinion.

Do they have the Ouda Kass Michael?

oude kaas = old cheese

jonge kaas = young cheese

belegen kaas = matured (between young and old) cheese

(Message edited by ALEX__danielle on March 7, 2008)

To complicate matters further, there's also "jong belegen kaas" en "oud belegen kaas" - aged in between above mentioned varieties.

Probably the best is "overjarige kaas", which is matured the longest. Very hard to cut, but delicious.

These qualifications are valid for all Gouda and Edam cheeses.

And then there are "Leidsche kaas" = komijnenkaas = Gouda or Edam with cumin seeds, and nagelkaas = Gouda or Edam with cloves. Both are available in most matured states.

I'll stop now.

Alex......thanks for the lesson! Very helpful!!!!

LaDonna

Except for saying that there are even more varieties out there (with different herbs & spices, less or more fat content, creamy ones, goat and sheep milk types), and that you get what you pay for. Better cheeses are simply more expensive.

You're welcome, LaDonna, but if you look anything like the picture in your profile, stop eating cheese! Enjoy your time on Bon in 12 days!

LOL!!!

LaDonna

Alex,
I had to have some CHEESE for lunch after you described all those delicious varieties. MMmmmm. Thanks for the lesson.


LaDonna,
Is that a poothead in your profile pic?

just wondering!
Mare

Mare.....yes.....that is a Poothead. I had changed to that pic when I was posting as "Poothead" and totally forgot that was the pic on my profile!!!

LOL

LaDonna

Don't forget Masdam...nutty, great flavor

Maasdammer, yes, great, but have you tried Leerdammer, Michael? It's a bit like Emmentaler. And there are a lot more Dutch cheeses, but I didn't want to complicate things...
I prefer French cheese anyway, especially fromage de Brébis, very soft young sheep cheese. And let's not forget good fresh Parmigiano.
And...and...

If we're talking French, give me the Brillat-Savarin!!! I could go face down in the stuff!