While Gouda is made everywhere in Holland, there are major differences between goudas from different regions. These wheels are made in the north from milk of Holstein cows, two factors that give the cheese a distinctive creaminess speckled with big, crunchy flavor crystals.

Selected for us by Betty Koster of L'amuse, Amsterdam's top cheese shop, this cheese is aged for over two years, the flavor correspondingly intense. It fills your mouth with butterscotch and caramel, almost like a dessert. In fact, a single nib, taken with espresso after dinner, is a revelation.