Division 4.5 Method of production

Edam Holland cheese is made from milk obtained from dairy farms in the Netherlands. The milk is cooled on the farm to a maximum of 6 °C and stored in a cooling tank on the farm. It is transported to the cheese factory within 72 hours. When it arrives at the cheese factory, it is either processed immediately or thermised (a non-pasteurising, light heat treatment) and put into cold storage for a short period of time before being turned into cheese-milk.

The fat content of the milk is standardised so that the fat/protein ratio is such that the cheese eventually produced has a fat content of between 40 % and 44 % fat in dry matter. The cheese-milk is pasteurised at a temperature of at least 72 °C for 15 seconds. It is curdled at a temperature of approximately 30 °C. The separation and coagulation of the milk proteins that occurs during this process is typical of Edam Holland.

The curds obtained by coagulation are separated from the whey and processed and washed to ensure that the moisture content and pH reach the desired levels.

The curds are pressed into the correct shape and desired weight in vats. The resulting ‘cheese’ is then immersed in the brine bath.

Edam Holland is only ever matured naturally, i.e. it is left open to the air to mature and is regularly turned and checked. As the cheese matures, a dry rind forms. Time and temperature play an important role in ensuring that the enzymatic and ageing processes are given sufficient opportunity to allow the cheese to develop the physical and organoleptic quality that is so characteristic of Edam Holland. It can take more than a year for Edam Holland to mature, depending on the type of flavour desired.

Edam Holland may be cut and pre-packaged either in or outside the Netherlands, provided that the pre-packager has a comprehensive administrative monitoring system to ensure that the cut Edam Holland can be traced by means of the unique combination of numbers and letters on the mark and that the consumer can be sure of its origin.