"If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff"- Remy (Ratatouille)- Life's Gouda
- hkempf1
- Oct 27, 2020
- 3 min read
Please let these wise words settle in and start feeling INSPIRED! While its only taken me two years to finally compile my cheesiest adventures all in one place, after googling inspirational ratatouille quotes to get me through finals week for Med School, I realize the time has come! Soooooo buckle up folks, grab your best cheese knife and lets dig into this "string" of cheesy posts!
While it is beyond overwhelming to fathom simply where to begin this exciting journey, I suppose I should begin with the best scene in cinema history - Remy's MOUTHWATERING strawberry and gouda cheese pairing. Now may I remind you, this scene would have never come about if Remy hadn't taken a BIG risk. Traversing windows, doors, fridges, and rat traps simply to get a little bit of this tasty treat. However, he didn't just stop with a nibble of that nutty, buttery cheesy goodness, instead he took it a step beyond.... he chose to complement the flavor with something fresh, sweet, and flavorful. It is with this combination that his cheesiest dreams come true... the scene turns dark and Remy is lost in the Disneyland firework explosion of flavors! Please google this gif and commit it to memory because this is how I want you to experience cheese and life for that matter!
So now's the moment when you're probably wondering where did Gouda cheese come from and what's the big deal with pairing it with strawberries anyways????
It all began in the bustling Dutch city of Gouda... take a moment and let your mind transport you to an old cobble stone road along a canal sprinkled with pink flowers. It's 1184 AD, and you're in the birthplace of Gouda ("HOW-dah"): the Netherlands. As you stroll through the busy market place the smell of fresh bread and melted Gouda wafts through the air. Your eyes are filled with endless rows of fearless cheese farmers who have all come from far and wide to join their fellow countrymen at the center of cheese trade in the Netherlands. Centuries later, and Gouda still remains one of the world's most widely consumed cheeses having a monopoly over 50-60% of cheese consumption world wide!
Traditional Gouda is made of un-pasteurized cows milk (though some make it with goat or sheep's milk), and when aged with LOVE its nutty, creamy, toffee flavor profile is only enhanced. In fact, if you're patient you can consume 7 different kinds of Gouda. For those who are impatient, (basically a lot of American peeps) you've probably eaten Graskaas, or young gouda which is only a few weeks old! After that comes Jong, Jong Belegen, Belegen, Extra Belegen, Oud, and last but not least Overjarig (this guy packs a punch folks! Be prepared for a black rinded explosion of firm, rich, golden goodness !)
**for those science geeks the golden/crystal parts come from LOTTS of tyrosine amino acids
SO what's the big deal with strawberries anyways? Well first things first, while many people attribute perception of flavor to their 5 different types of taste buds (bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and umami), 80% of our "taste" perception is due to aroma (YES! that's right our sense of smell!!!). Thus, if you consume foods that activate similar smell receptors, you actually enhance the perception of that particular taste! Amazingly, experiments (in gas chromatography-AKA particle separation technique) from the "FoodPairing" found that strawberries share almost a third of their aroma with cheese!
Now YOU, my well informed, young Gouda, it is the moment you've all been waiting for!!! My newest Gouda cheese recommendation: Beemster Black Label Gouda paired with fresh strawberries!
ICHING TO KNOW MORE??
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