Dutch cheeses to know
The Netherlands mainly produces semi-hard cow's milk cheeses, sold as whole wheels and cut to order. Several carry an EU-protected name: a protected designation of origin (PDO) guarantees a precise production area, a protected geographical indication (PGI) a looser link with the country.
| Cheese | What it is | Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Gouda | The most common: a large flat wheel, from very mild to very strong depending on age | PGI Gouda Holland; PDO Noord-Hollandse Gouda for the North Holland version |
| Edam | A small ball with a firmer, less fatty paste, red rind for export | PGI Edam Holland; PDO Noord-Hollandse Edammer |
| Boerenkaas | Raw-milk farmhouse cheese, made on the farm | Traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) |
| Leidse kaas | Cumin cheese from the Leiden area; Boeren-Leidse met sleutels has two keys printed on the rind | PDO Boeren-Leidse met sleutels |
| Flavoured cheeses | Gouda with cumin, cloves, herbs or nettles | No particular protection |
| Goat's cheese | White semi-hard cheese, increasingly common | PGI Hollandse geitenkaas |
The brands you will see in every shop, such as Old Amsterdam or Leerdammer, are good-quality industrial products, not protected names. For a cheese with more character, ask for an aged boerenkaas.
Understanding ageing: from jong to overjarig
The same gouda tastes completely different as it ages. Cheesemongers show the age on the label, using a scale everyone in the Netherlands knows:
- Jong (young, about 4 weeks): supple paste, mild and milky; the cheese for breakfast sandwiches.
- Jong belegen, then belegen (about 2 to 4 months): more flavour, firmer paste.
- Extra belegen (about 7 months): stronger, slightly salty notes.
- Oud (at least 10 months) and overjarig (over a year): dry, crumbly paste dotted with small crystals that crunch between your teeth, with nutty, caramel notes.
For a first tasting, compare a jong belegen and an oud from the same cheesemonger: the difference is striking. In a café, old cheese is ordered in cubes, with mustard, to go with a beer.
Where to taste and buy in Amsterdam
Tasting shops in the centre
On the busiest streets (Damrak, Damstraat, Kalverstraat, around Dam Square), cheese shops offer free tastings, often of flavoured cheeses (truffle, pesto, chilli) that visitors like but that are not traditional. Prices per kilo there are usually higher than at a neighbourhood cheesemonger: compare before buying a large piece.
The best known is the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, Prinsengracht 112, a short walk from the Anne Frank House. Entry is free, with no booking: on the ground floor, more than 20 cheeses to taste; in the cellar, a small exhibition on the history of Dutch cheese. Open Monday to Saturday 9am to 10pm and Sunday 9am to 9pm. It is above all a shop, but handy for a first introduction.
Cheesemongers
To choose a real cheese of a specific age, go to a cheesemonger who cuts to order and lets you taste before buying. In the Nine Streets, De Kaaskamer van Amsterdam, Runstraat 7, is packed from floor to ceiling with Dutch and foreign wheels, along with cured meats, wine and takeaway sandwiches. Open Monday 12pm to 6pm, Tuesday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm. Cheese can be vacuum-packed for travel.
Markets
Market cheesemongers sell by the piece, often for less than the shops in the centre:
- The Albert Cuyp Market, in De Pijp, Monday to Saturday: several gouda stalls with cheeses of every age.
- The Noordermarkt, in the Jordaan, on Saturdays: an organic market with farmhouse cheeses.
Watching cheese being made
At the Zaanse Schans, the Catharina Hoeve farm gives guided cheesemaking demonstrations every day, with tasting. The site is reached by train from Amsterdam Centraal and combines well with the windmills.
Traditional cheese markets near Amsterdam
Three towns still re-enact the old-style cheese trade in spring and summer, with costumed porters, weighing and hand-clap bargaining ("handjeklap"). Entry is free everywhere.
| Market | Day and hours | Season | From Amsterdam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alkmaar | Friday 10am-1pm; Tuesday evenings 7pm-9pm in July-August | 26 March to 24 September 2027 | Direct train, about 35 min, €10 one way |
| Edam | Wednesday 10:30am-12:30pm | In 2026, 1 July to 19 August | Bus 316, about 35 min |
| Gouda | Thursday 10am-12:30pm | In 2026, April to late August | Train, about 1 hr |
Opening hours and prices checked in October 2026; the 2026 seasons in Edam and Gouda are over and their 2027 dates have not yet been published.
- The Alkmaar cheese market is the largest and most authentic: some 2,400 wheels on the Waagplein, a porters' guild founded in 1593 and a cheese museum in the weigh house. If you only see one, make it this one.
- In Edam, the summer market is smaller and family-friendly, in front of the 1778 weigh house. The town combines with Volendam and Marken, on the same bus line.
- Gouda, to the south, has its own market on Thursdays in front of the town hall, but the journey is longer.
To see the dairy villages north of the city, including Edam, Monnickendam and Broek in Waterland, follow our Waterland itinerary.
Taking cheese home
- Packing: ask for vacuum packing ("vacuüm"), offered by most cheesemongers and shops. A well-wrapped hard cheese can travel for a few days without refrigeration.
- Flying: hard cheese travels without problem in checked luggage. In the cabin, creamy or spreadable cheeses fall under the liquids limits; a piece of gouda does not.
- Customs: between EU countries, there is no limit for personal use. However, since 12 April 2025, the United Kingdom has banned travellers from bringing cheese and dairy products from the EU into Great Britain, even if packaged or bought duty-free. For other countries, check your customs rules before buying.
- Quantity: a whole gouda wheel often weighs more than 10 kilos; cheesemongers also sell small wheels and pieces of 250 g to 1 kg, easier to carry.
Further reading
Cheese is only part of the local food scene: herring, bitterballen and stroopwafels are covered in our guide to what to eat in Amsterdam. To plan an outing beyond the city, see our day trips from Amsterdam and, for neighbourhood markets, our page on the Albert Cuyp Market.
