Leyden cheese

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Leidse cheese, known as komijnekaas (cumin cheese) or boeren-Leidsekaas in Dutch, is a spiced cheese made in the Netherlands from partly skimmed cow's milk to which color is added. It is made both in factories and on farms, historically in the Leiden area.

The factory cheese is round and flat like Gouda, but sometimes it is made with sharp edges on one side. It is imported into the United States in different sizes, some cheeses weighing about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) and others as much as 16 to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kg).

On the farms about 5% of buttermilk may be added to the milk, and it is set with rennet at a temperature of 82 to 86 °F (28 to 30 °C). About 30 minutes later the curd is cut with a harp, stirred, and warmed to about 92 °F (33 °C) by pouring in hot whey. The curd is dipped with a cloth and kneaded. Caraway and cumin seeds, and sometimes cloves, are added to a portion of the curd, and the curd is then put into cloth-lined hoops in three layers with the spiced curd as the middle layer. The cheese is pressed for about 3 hours, then it is redressed, inverted, and again pressed overnight. It may be salted with dry salt, or it may be immersed in a brine bath. It is cured in a cool, moist cellar. If the rind becomes too hard, it is washed with whey or salty water. It is said that milk may be rubbed on the surface occasionally, and that an alkaline solution containing litmus may be used to tint the surface blue.

Analysis: Moisture 40.6%, fat 13.5% and protein, 37.3%.