Dutch Cheese Markets
Encyclopedia
There are five cheese markets operating in the Netherlands
. Woerden
is a modern working commercial cheese market. Four, Alkmaar
, Gouda
, Edam
and Hoorn
, are like traditional merchant cheese markets as operated in the post-medieval period
, re-enacted during the summer months for tourists. The shows are today surrounded by stalls selling all things traditional to the Dutch culture, including cheese.
Dutch cheese farmers traditionally brought their cheeses to the market square in town to sell. Teams (vemen) of official guild cheese-porters (kaasdragers), identified by differently coloured straw hats associated with their forwarding company, carried the farmers' cheese on stretchers, which typically weighed about 160 kilograms. Buyers then sampled the cheeses and negotiated a price using a ritual system called handjeklap in which buyers and sellers clap each others' hands and shout prices. Once a price is agreed, the porters carry the cheese to the weighing
house (Waag), and scale of their company.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Woerden
Woerden
Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...
is a modern working commercial cheese market. Four, Alkmaar
Alkmaar
Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...
, Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
, Edam
Edam
Edam is a city in the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. Combined with Volendam, Edam forms the municipality of Edam-Volendam. Approximately 7,380 people live in Edam. The whole municipality of Edam-Volendam has 28,492 inhabitants...
and Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
, are like traditional merchant cheese markets as operated in the post-medieval period
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
, re-enacted during the summer months for tourists. The shows are today surrounded by stalls selling all things traditional to the Dutch culture, including cheese.
Dutch cheese farmers traditionally brought their cheeses to the market square in town to sell. Teams (vemen) of official guild cheese-porters (kaasdragers), identified by differently coloured straw hats associated with their forwarding company, carried the farmers' cheese on stretchers, which typically weighed about 160 kilograms. Buyers then sampled the cheeses and negotiated a price using a ritual system called handjeklap in which buyers and sellers clap each others' hands and shout prices. Once a price is agreed, the porters carry the cheese to the weighing
Weighing scale
A weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load...
house (Waag), and scale of their company.
Alkmaar
This large 400-year old cheese market located on the Waagplein ("weighing square") now opens every Friday morning between 10 am and 12:30 pm from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. From opening ceremonies to final load, market activities are explained in Dutch, German, English and sometimes Japanese.Edam
At the Edam cheese market, which unsurprisingly features Edam cheese, horse-drawn carriages and boats bring farmers' cheeses to the Jan van Nieuwenhuizen Square to be presented at the current weigh house, built in 1778. This traditional-style cheese market opens in July and August on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm.Gouda
Gouda cheese has been traded on the Goudse kaasmarkt for more than three centuries. Nowadays it is open from mid-June until August, every Thursday morning between 10 am and 12:30 pm, Farmers from the region gather to have their cheese weighed, tasted and priced. The Gouda cheese market is surrounded by many exhibitions of authentic Dutch professions, from cheese production to clog making and buttermilk preparation.Hoorn
Opened in 2007 on the Roode Steen square, this reproduction cheese market takes place Thursday mornings between 12:30 and 13:45 between 28 June and 20 September, and Thursday evenings between 21:00 and 22:15. There are live commentaries on the whole process of carrying in the cheese, weighing, and negotiating in both Dutch and English.Woerden
This commercial cheese market features farmers' cheeses with little of the spectacle or pageantry of the other markets. For more than 100 years, every Wednesday morning starting around 9:00 am, there is an active trade between the cheese farmers and the marktmeester (market foreman), when prices are determined for the different types of cheese. The cheeses for sale are boerenkazen (farmers' cheeses) which are considered by cheese aficionados to be more authentic and have a much better taste than factory-made cheese.Annual Historic Cheese Market Woerden
Every August, on the last Wednesday of the school summer holidays (for the central Netherlands), a historic cheese market is held, where the farmers and farmer's wives dress up in period costumes and re-enact a traditional cheese market. In 2011, the historical cheese market will be held on 13 August.See also
- Culture of the NetherlandsCulture of the NetherlandsDutch culture, or the culture of the Netherlands, is diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as the foreign influences thanks to the merchant and exploring spirit of the Dutch and the influx of immigrants...
- NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- CheeseCheeseCheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
- MarketMarketA market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
- Dutch cuisineDutch cuisineDutch cuisine is shaped by the practice of fishing and farming, including the cultivation of the soil for raising crops and the raising of domesticated animals, and the history of the Netherlands.-History:...