Maasdam cheese is a Dutch

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...

 cheese

Cheese

Cheese 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....

 in a Swiss-style

Swiss cheese

Swiss cheese is a generic name in North America for several related varieties of cheese which resemble the Swiss Emmental. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Swiss cheese has a piquant, but not very sharp,...

. Made from cow's milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, it is aged for at least 4 weeks. It ripens faster than other Dutch cheeses. Maasdam has internal holes from the ripening process, and a smooth yellow rind. Sometimes it is waxed like Gouda

Gouda (cheese)

Gouda is an orange cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese is named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands, but its name is not protected. However, the European Commission has confirmed that "Gouda Holland" is to be protected...

. The cheese was created to compete with the popular Swiss Emmental by being less expensive and quicker to produce. In the process of making a cheese with the same general components as Swiss cheeses, the Dutch ended up with a cheese that is nutty and sweet, but softer than Emmental due to a higher moisture content.

The style was introduced in 1984 by the Baars company as the trademarked Leerdammer

Leerdammer

Leerdammer is a Dutch semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It has an aging time of around 3–12 months.It has a creamy white texture and was made to be similar in appearance and flavor to Emmental, but it is rounder in taste. It has a sweet and somewhat nutty flavour that becomes more pronounced...

cheese, though it is now made by other Dutch companies under the name Maasdam.