A mild semi-hard cheese in a red wax coat, sliced onto bread. It is named for the port of Edam, which held a cheese-weighing right from the Middle Ages, and its low fat and wax coat are exactly what let it survive long sea voyages.
It is a pressed, brined, wax-sealed cheese ripened for weeks or months in a controlled store — a dairy process, and the wax coat is applied on a line.
What goes into it
- partly skimmed cow’s milk
- rennet
- a starter culture
- salt
- wax
How it is made
Partly skimmed milk is set with rennet and the curd washed and pressed into spheres, then brined and ripened for weeks. Because the milk is skimmed the cheese is low in fat, which makes it firm and slow to spoil; the wax coat then seals it against air entirely. Both were shipping decisions before they were flavour ones.
How long it takes: four weeks for young, up to a year for aged
How it is eaten
Sliced on bread with mustard, or cubed as a snack.
History
Named for the port of Edam, which held a cheese-weighing right from the Middle Ages; its low fat and wax coat let it survive long sea voyages.
Frequently asked questions
What is Edam cheese?
Edam cheese is a cheese & dairy from Netherlands: mild semi-hard cheese in a red wax coat, sliced onto bread. Named for the port of Edam, which held a cheese-weighing right from the Middle Ages; its low fat and wax coat let it survive long sea voyages.
How is Edam cheese made?
Partly skimmed milk is set with rennet and the curd washed and pressed into spheres, then brined and ripened for weeks. Because the milk is skimmed the cheese is low in fat, which makes it firm and slow to spoil; the wax coat then seals it against air entirely. Both were shipping decisions before they were flavour ones. It takes four weeks for young, up to a year for aged.
Can I make Edam cheese at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a pressed, brined, wax-sealed cheese ripened for weeks or months in a controlled store — a dairy process, and the wax coat is applied on a line.
What goes into Edam cheese?
Partly skimmed cow’s milk, rennet, a starter culture, salt, wax.
How is Edam cheese eaten?
Sliced on bread with mustard, or cubed as a snack.
