The cheese 'Gouda" descends from the town of Gouda, Netherlands. It is not due to its manufacture, but rather to the trading center that Gouda represented for Dutch cheese.

The term "Gouda" refers more to a general style of cheese making rather than to a specific kind of cheese, pointing to the fact that the taste varies greatly based on age.The seven different categories of Gouda are based on age.Young (and factory-produced) Gouda has been described as having a flavor that is "lightly fudgy with nuts, but very, very very mild", while the same source describes a more mature farmhouse gouda as having a "lovely fruity tang" with a "sweet finish", that may take on "an almost butterscotch flavor" if aged over two years.

After cultured milk is curdled, some of the whey is then drained and water is added. This is called "washing the curd", and creates a sweeter cheese, as the washing removes some of the lactose, resulting in a reduction of lactic acid produced. About 10% of the mixture is curds, which are pressed into circular molds for several hours. These molds are the essential reason behind its traditional, characteristic shape. The cheese is then soaked in a brine solution, which gives the cheese and its rind a distinctive taste.

The cheese is dried for a few days before being coated with a yellow coating to prevent it from drying out, then it is aged, during which process the cheese changes from semihard to hard. Dutch cheesemakers generally use six gradations to classify the cheese:

• Young cheese (4 weeks)
• Young matured (8–10 weeks)
• Matured (16–18 weeks)
• Extra matured (7–8 months)
• Old cheese (10–12 months)
• Very old cheese (12 months and more)

As it ages, it develops a caramel sweetness and has a slight crunchiness from cheese crystals, especially in older cheeses.

Young Gouda cheese is typically used on sandwiches, either cold or melted.

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