Where in the World is Marta Senn-Diego? Part 25: Cheese, Cheese, and More!

"Cheese, Gromit! We'll go somewhere there's cheese!" Wallace and Gromit, "A Grand Day Out."

Like Wallace and Gromit, I've landed in a world seemingly made of the creamy dreamy substance commonly called kaas. Dutch black and white cows have famously high milk yields, making the Netherlands a cheese producing powerhouse.

Cheese is such a major part of the culture that a traditional peasant wedding gift was a cheese press! Try registering for one of those at Pottery Barn!


Amsterdam has earned their cheese-bragging rights. The cheese is delicious! It's so good that shops all over Amsterdam are literally giving it away because they are so confident in their sales. Cheese shops old and new now sell internationally and enjoy brisk business during high season. 

I know I'm enamored with these cheeses and the shops that sell them! This is actually for a few reasons:

1. There are so many diverse and unique flavors to try! Truffle! Coconut! Red or green pesto! Fenugreek! Lavender, for god's shake!

2. Some shops are in the beautifully styled traditional Dutch buildings with gabled roofs and shuttered windows.

3. Others dive into the tourist spirit and dress the staff in dairy farmer's costumes.

4. They sell more than cheese: there are delicious dips and mustards (fig dips, cranberry mustards, etc) as well as chocolates, cheese knives, and stroopwafels.

5. FREE CHEESE!

When you're traveling, it's a virtuous quality to be a tight wad. One of the easiest and tastiest penny pinching methods in Amsterdam is to sate your noontime appetite at the cheese shops. However, since I've been here for almost two weeks, I avoid frequenting the same places to avoid getting kicked out for being such a free-loader.

Fortunately, there are dozens of cheese shops! One of my favorites is Cheese & More by Henri Willig. Over the past 40 years, Willig has built his cheese empire from a family-run farm to entrepreneurial success. They make cheese in the traditional Dutch fashion, which shows in the overall quality of the cheese. And thank goodness they ship internationally! I need my polder!

Other shops like Old Amsterdam Cheese specialize in aged cheeses which are harder and sharper than the "young" cheeses which are aged for only months as opposed to years. Think of parmesan cheese and how sharp it is compared to something like mozzarella. They also have delicious smoked cheeses!

At all cheese shops, there are bowls of sample cubes and jars of mustards and dips so you can sample some very interesting combinations like cumin cheese and fig dip or aged cow cheese and honey mustard.

Some shops are very generous with their cheese samples. I found one in De Jordaan where you literally cut your own cheese! A very shady character could slice off an adequate chunk of truffle cheese if they were so inclined.

When you've had enough cheese, try the crackers or chunks of stroopwafel before ducking your eyes and heading out the door. In this fashion, I've been able to sample some amazing cheese, learn a lot about the process (for example, the portable stool was invented by dairy farmers to make it easier to move from cow to cow quickly) and save a few Euro in the process.

That's a lot of love, right there