Chef Joost
Amsterdamse Ossenworst
The name means ox sausage, but the real story is Amsterdam itself: cattle trade, Jewish butchers, VOC spices, and raw beef sliced thin with onion.
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Goudse en Leidse Kaasplank
Created by
The heart of the Dutch borrelplank: sweet young Gouda, deep aged Gouda, and cumin-studded Leidse, cut with the kaasschaaf and served without ceremony.
Appetizers & Snacks
Dutch
Dinner Party
Potluck
Celebration
15 min
Active Time
0 min cook•15 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
ADutch cheese board is not a board trying to impress you. It is a table deciding to stay open a little longer. In my grandmother's second notebook there was no recipe for kaasplank, cheese board, because who writes down how to cut cheese? She did write down who liked jonge kaas, young Gouda, who wanted the brokkelkaas that crumbles under the knife, and which uncle would steal every zilveruitje, little pickled onion, before the coffee arrived. This too is cookery. The family table keeps records in appetite.
But let me tell you a secret: Gouda is not really a cheese from Gouda in the narrow way people imagine. It is a market name, a trading name, the name of the town where the wheels were weighed, bargained over, and sent onward. Leidse kaas, Leiden cheese, tells a different story. It is leaner, drier, flecked with cumin, born from farms where the cream had already gone to butter and the remaining milk still had to earn its place at supper. Exuberant cookery in a frugal country, yes, even in a cube of cheese on a cocktail stick.
So the work here is restraint. Cut the young Gouda into clean cubes because it is soft and friendly. Break the aged Gouda into rough pieces because its crystals deserve edges, not obedience. Shave the Leidse thin with a kaasschaaf, cheese slicer, so the cumin opens on the tongue instead of arriving as a hard little sermon. Add mustard, rye bread, pickled onions, and a glass already poured. Hou het altijd simpel: the board is finished when people begin reaching across it.
Goudse kaas takes its name from the city of Gouda, whose cheese market is documented from the late Middle Ages and became a trading centre for wheels made across the surrounding polders rather than only inside the town itself. Leidse kaas developed around Leiden and Rijnland as a farm cheese made from partly skimmed milk after butter-making, with cumin added for fragrance and keeping character; the protected Boeren-Leidse met sleutels still carries the crossed keys of Leiden. Together they show two Dutch dairy economies at the table: Gouda as market power, Leiden as frugal farm ingenuity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
young Gouda
Quantity
250g
cut into 2cm cubes
aged Gouda
Quantity
250g
broken or cut into rough bite-size pieces
Leidse kaas with cumin
Quantity
200g
thinly shaved or cut into small wedges
pickled pearl onions (zilveruitjes)
Quantity
150g
drained
Dutch mustard
Quantity
100g
dark rye bread or roggebrood
Quantity
1 small loaf
sliced
crisp apples
Quantity
2
cored and sliced
cornichons or Dutch pickles (augurken)
Quantity
100g
drained
unsalted butter
Quantity
as needed
softened
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| young Goudacut into 2cm cubes | 250g |
| aged Goudabroken or cut into rough bite-size pieces | 250g |
| Leidse kaas with cuminthinly shaved or cut into small wedges | 200g |
| pickled pearl onions (zilveruitjes)drained | 150g |
| Dutch mustard | 100g |
| dark rye bread or roggebroodsliced | 1 small loaf |
| crisp applescored and sliced | 2 |
| cornichons or Dutch pickles (augurken)drained | 100g |
| unsalted buttersoftened | as needed |
| freshly ground black pepper (optional) | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Cheese board or broad serving plate
- •Kaasschaaf, Dutch cheese slicer
- •Small bowls for mustard and pickles
- •Prikkers, small cocktail sticks
Instructions
- 1
Temper the cheese
Take the cheeses from the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before serving. Cold cheese is mute cheese; the fat needs time to soften so the young Gouda tastes milky, the aged Gouda tastes nutty, and the cumin in the Leidse wakes properly.
- 2
Cut each cheese
Cut the young Gouda into tidy cubes, break or cut the aged Gouda into rough bite-size pieces, and shave the Leidse kaas thinly with a kaasschaaf, cheese slicer. The shapes matter because the cheeses behave differently: young Gouda wants a clean cube, aged Gouda wants fractured edges, and Leidse wants thinness so the cumin doesn't bully the milk.
- 3
Build the board
Arrange the three cheeses in separate groups on a wooden board or broad plate, leaving space between them so people can taste them in their own order. Tuck the pickled onions and augurken into small bowls, spoon the mustard into another, and set the rye bread and butter at the edge. A kaasplank should invite hands, not require choreography.
Put a few prikkers, small cocktail sticks, beside the cubes. The old borrel habit is simple: cube of cheese, pickled onion, a dab of mustard if you're that sort of person, then back to the conversation. - 4
Serve and pass
Add the sliced apple at the last moment so it stays crisp, give the aged Gouda a little black pepper if you like, and serve at room temperature. Don't crowd the board. Refill it as people eat; abundance looks better when it arrives in waves than when every corner is buried at the start.
Chef Tips
- •Buy one young Gouda and one properly aged Gouda, not two middle-aged cheeses pretending to be different. The board needs contrast: soft and milky beside hard, salty, and crystalline.
- •For the Leidse, look for cumin seeds visible in the paste and, if you can find it, Boeren-Leidse met sleutels. The crossed keys mark the Leiden tradition, and they are not decoration; they are a little city history pressed into the rind.
- •Use a kaasschaaf for the Leidse and a sturdy knife for the aged Gouda. Aged Gouda often breaks where it wants to, and I trust the cheese's opinion.
- •Drink jenever, a dry Dutch beer, or a crisp white wine with this. Sweet wine makes the Gouda heavy; sharp mustard and pickles do the cleaner work.
Advance Preparation
- •Cheese can be cut up to 4 hours ahead, covered tightly, and refrigerated; bring it back to room temperature before serving.
- •Drain the pickled onions and pickles ahead, but slice the apples just before serving so they stay crisp and pale.
- •Leftover cheese keeps best wrapped separately in waxed paper or parchment, then loosely in a container, for 5 to 7 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 270g)
Calories
620 calories
Total Fat
38 g
Saturated Fat
23 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
125 mg
Sodium
1620 mg
Total Carbohydrates
39 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
11 g
Protein
31 g
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