Cheese, edam

Fun Facts

1. From the 14th until the 18th century, Edam cheese was the most popular cheese in the world especially at sea and in the colonies far away. Because of the fact that the Edam cheese could mature very well and could become very old, it was easy to bring it along to eat while travelling.
2. The Edam cheese of today is not the same cheese as the one which our great grand parents used to know. Since the 19th century it is no longer made from full milk but made from partly skimmed milk.
3. The fat percentage of the Edam cheese is lower (40%) than the fat percentage of the Gouda cheese (48%). Also, the real farmer’s Edam cheese with a nice strong flavour disappeared and was replaced by a softer factory made Edam cheese.
4. Edam cheese is mostly sold as a 1.7 kg. cheese but it also exists in a smaller size. The smaller Edam cheese is also called ‘baby Edam’ cheese.
5. The Edam cheese sold in the Netherlands is rarely coated with a paraffin wax coating except during the tourist high season, this does not include the export cheeses.