Smith's Farmstead Smoked Gouda

I've had many smoked Goudas in my day, well, in truth, only one repeatedly.

You've probably all seen it, white, cylindrical, with a dark brown skin. It smells strongly of liquid smoke, and tastes, well, pretty much like liquid smoke. This is Pasteurized process cheese-food product.... American cheese with smoke, Velveeta flambé.... it’s unconscionable that a Connoisseur of Cheese would settle for this imitation.

So I sought out REAL smoked Gouda and found Smith's Farmstead smoked Gouda.

Priced LESS than the bullcrap kind I was used to in the past, this cheese looked more authentic from the word “go”. It had orange-tan smoke staining and marks from having sat on a wire rack. It looked like it had been cut from a wheel rather than from a log. I figured I had already had the worst, so how could I go wrong.

Smith's farmstead is located in Winchendon, MA, so I felt good that I was supporting a local farm, plus this added credence to my theory that this was REAL smoked Gouda.

I was right, where the stuff I've had in the past was like waxy Velveeta, this was smooth and melted evenly in the mouth. The taste was amazing, pungently smoky, true, but with a supporting backbone of tangy, sharp, aged Gouda. Well done!

I enjoyed this cheese with my current favorite cheese vehicle; Wasa multigrain crispbread. These sturdy and sizable crackers can stand up to a sharp and strong cheese while still imparting a wholesome nuttiness from the grains and toasted wheat.