Extra-Aged Brabander Reserve Goat Gouda
Creamy, caramelly deliciousness from the Netherlands
Looking for an amazing artisan cheese that guests of every culinary stripe are almost sure to like? This remarkable—and remarkably delicious—aged goat cheese from the Netherlands is a great candidate to fill the bill.
Brabander is indeed one of the tastiest aged goat cheeses I’ve gotten the chance to eat in ages! Creamy and smooth, with a goat flavor that’s amazingly accessible and appealing to pretty much every palate. As someone who’s been eating artisan cheese all over the world for over 40 years, I find it fabulous. So, too, do folks who’ve never had a cheese of this quality— sweet, almost caramelly, what’s not to love?
The Brabander cheese comes from the Brabant region in the southern part of the Netherlands, which is along the Belgian border. The cheese is made for, and then aged by, Betty and Martin Koster, who own and run the Netherlands’ best artisan cheese shop—if you’re going to Amsterdam, please stop by L’Amuse and say we sent you! Brabander starts with the milk of the old breed of Saanen goats from a co-op in the region. The young cheeses are then carefully aged by the Kosters to develop their delightful flavor. The maturing is done mostly at ambient temperature (they use the coolers only a few days each year, when the weather gets particularly hot) so that natural air moves around the wheels as they age. And this extra-aged Brabander Reserve gets an additional eight months of maturing to make the flavor even bigger than usual!
Brabander is a bit like the most popular person at a party: Whoever or whatever you pair it with, you can be pretty sure it’s going to get along well. It’d make a marvelous grilled cheese on the Country Miche or Roadhouse bread from the Bakehouse. It’s great in the Dutch style for breakfast: Serve slices of it along with good bread, butter, some hot tea, or with the super-tasty 2025 Holiday Blend coffee I’m sipping on now while I scribe! Or have it for a snack with some Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter and a slice of the Bakehouse’s Vollkornbrot. Brabander pairs perfectly with honey, or if you’re having it for breakfast, with jam. Light, creamy, and compelling in flavor, firm and almost but not quite crumbly in texture, the Brabander is caramelly in a way that would work really well with walnuts or hazelnuts. Throw a few cubes of Brabander on a salad with some of those nuts and slices of fresh apple. Very good on a ham sandwich, too! And a wonderful way to welcome in 2026!
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