Famous cheese: Holland's most well-known cheese has been around for more than eight centuries

By Tom Harte

I'm sure you are familiar with Gouda cheese, arguably Holland's most famous, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of cheese in that country and these days as ubiquitous, even in this country, as Kraft singles. In fact, Gouda accounts for nearly 60 percent of the cheese consumed the world over.

I too am familiar with the cheese and have been enjoying it all my life. But recently I discovered upon visiting the Dutch city from which the cheese gets its designation, that for all these years I have been mispronouncing its name. The locals call it "how-da," not "goo-da."

Since my visit I've been trying to remember to pronounce the name of the cheese and the city correctly, while relieved I didn't get as far as the town of Stolwijk, just four miles southeast of Gouda, where they produce their own cheese, called Stolwijksekaas. I doubt I could ever perfect my pronunciation of that tongue twister.

However you say it, Gouda deserves to be taken more seriously than it often is. For example, the internationally acclaimed cheesemonger Steven Jenkins, who hails originally from Columbia, Missouri, says Gouda, at least the grocery store kind, is among the most unexciting cheeses imaginable. He admits, though, that when properly aged it becomes a "miracle of flavor."

Row after row of Holland's most famous cheese, Gouda, ages on shelves while waiting to be sold.TOM HARTE

You might expect as much from a cheese made in a country with a long tradition of cheese making, itself an ancient enterprise. Archaeologists used to peg the invention of cheese to about 2000 B.C., certainly sufficiently long ago to qualify as primeval. Recent digs of prehistoric pottery, however, now lead them to conclude the invention of cheese may date back as far as 5000 B.C.

They may not have been producing cheese quite that long in the Netherlands, but the practice can be traced back at least as far as 800 B.C. Moreover, Gouda itself can be traced back to the year 1184, making it perhaps the oldest cheese on record still being made today following, more or less, the original recipe. To this day Dutch farmers trek to Gouda every week during the summer to have their cheeses ceremoniously inspected in sight of the historic Waag or weigh house built in 1667.

Hence Dutch cheeses, and in particular Gouda, have a noble tradition. Thus, not surprisingly, if you look for them, you can find noble specimens of Gouda. Generally speaking, the older the Gouda, the better. As the cheese ages, it gets firmer in texture and richer in flavor. To help differentiate them, the rinds of younger cheeses are red, yellow or orange, while mature cheeses have black rinds. Steer clear of Gouda sheathed in red paraffin and covered in cellophane unless all you want to do is make a toasted cheese sandwich or a vat of mac and cheese (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Pear and Smoked Gouda Dutch Baby

What better way to enjoy the principal Dutch cheese than with a Dutch Baby, even if the dish was actually invented by a cafe in Seattle and the term refers to the Pennsylvania Dutch rather than residents of the Netherlands? This recipe for what is essentially a big, puffy pancake is adapted from Emily Vikre's "Five and Spice" blog.

Though the historic Waag or weigh house in the Dutch city of Gouda is now a museum, farmers trek here every week during the summer to have their cheeses ceremoniously inspected, as they have done for centuries.TOM HARTE

Tom Harte stops while in Gouda in the Netherlands to admire a poster depicting two iconic figures of Dutch culture: a Dutch girl in native garb with a wheel of the country's most well known cheese, Gouda.

An antique cheese press at the cheese museum in Gouda in the Netherlands gives a glimpse of how the country's most famous cheese has been made for centuries.TOM HARTE

• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 medium leek, thinly sliced (white part only)
• 2 medium pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat for about 3 minutes until starting to brown. Add leek and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until starting to soften. Add pears and cook for 3 minutes more or until browned and softened. Remove from heat. In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and pepper and process until smooth. Put 4 tablespoons butter in a cast-iron skillet or baking pan and place in a 425-degree oven until butter is completely melted and sizzling. Swirl butter around pan and spread pears on the bottom. Pour in egg mixture and scatter cheese over all. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and browned. Sprinkle with chives and serve warm.