Leyden, from nl, Leidse kaas, is a semi-hard, cumin and

caraway seed Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

flavoured cheese made in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from cow's milk. It is made both in factories and on farms, historically in the

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

area. ''Leidse kaas'' is the most common type of '' komijnekaas''—cheese including cumin as an ingredient—in the Netherlands. The cheese is round and flat like Gouda however it is made with sharp edges on one side and less roundness to its side. It has a fat percentage of 30% to 40%, and can weigh between and .

Production

On the farms, about 5% of

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

may be added to the milk, and it is set with rennet at a temperature of to . About 30 minutes later, the curd is cut with a harp, stirred, and warmed to about by pouring in hot whey. The curd is dipped with a cloth and kneaded. Cumin seeds 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 three hours, then it is redressed, inverted, and again pressed overnight. It may be salted with dry

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, 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.

Origin

Traditionally, the farms in the Netherlands produced butter for the local markets. Butter had to be produced locally as it spoiled quickly. This resulted in a byproduct of semi-skimmed (part skim) milk, which was usually fed to calves, as it was of limited value. Another way to use the milk was to produce low-fat cheese. Low-fat cheeses could be preserved better than full-cream cheese (such as Gouda), especially at higher temperatures. Farmers in the area near Leiden added cumin seeds and used to colour their cheeses using

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree ('' Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its f ...

, which gives the cheese its red color. Traditional farm-made ''Leidse kaas'' made in the West of the Netherlands is an EU and UK Protected Designation of Origin named ''Boeren-Leidse met sleutels''.Boeren-Leidse met sleutels
Retrieved on 2009-12-27. The addition ''met sleutels'' (with keys) stems from the city of

's coat of arms that bears a set of keys. A typical analysis of the cheese is: Moisture 40.6%, fat 13.5% and protein, 37.3%.

References

{{Dutch cheeses Dutch cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses

Production

Origin

See also

References