Cheese, Glorious Cheese: The Amsterdam Cheese Museum

The Netherlands is famous for its cheese and the Amsterdam Cheese Museum offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the rich history of Dutch cheese making and to purchase a wide range of cheeses from the museum's shop.

Cheese making began 5,000 years ago, when nomads kept milk in sacks made from the dried stomachs of calves.  As the nomads travelled, the milk was continuously shaken, resulting in a thick, white mass.  This mass was stored in a basket with stones placed on top to speed the drying process, leading to the production of the first primitive cheese.  Cheese has been made in the Netherlands since prehistoric times, as proven by the examination of clay pots dating from 800 BC.  In the 19th century, Dutch cows were known for their high milk yield and the Maas-Rijn-Ijssel and Holstein Friesian breeds remain the most important for global cheese production.  The average Dutch cow produces 8,000 litres of milk per year, with some 'super cows' producing an average of 12,000 litres per year.

Cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening.  On average, a cow produces 75 litres of milk per day.  Milking the cows was traditionally done manually, mostly by the farmer's wife.  Today, the milking process is automated using machines.  The milk carousel is a modern invention, comprising multiple stables that are slowly rotated; a cow enters one of the stables and is automatically milked during one rotation.  Milk extracted from the cow flows through the milking machine into the milk tank, in which it is kept cool.  The milk is transported in tanker trucks to a cheese factory to be made into cheese.

Milk contains lactose, proteins, fat, and salt and the cheese produced from milk can be made with either unpasteurised or pasteurised milk.  With pasteurisation, the milk is heated to more than 70 degrees Celsius to kill off bacteria, while raw, unpasteurised milk retains the bacteria and gives the cheese a richer flavour and creamier texture.  To make cheese, the milk is warmed up to 29 degrees Celsius and rennet (an enzyme that helps to curdle the milk) is added; this causes the proteins and fat in the milk to stick together.  While rennet was traditionally found in one of the stomachs of calves, today it is often derived from plants.  After approximately 30 minutes, the milk has thickened and the thick milk is cut into pieces, thereby separating the curds (pieces) from the whey (fluid).  Cutting of the curds is done with great care, as they are very delicate.  To achieve the correct firmness, the curds are then washed with hot water and stirred, causing the curds to shrink and firm up.  When almost all the whey is drained, the pieces of curd are put in a cheese mould and pressed tightly to drain off more whey and firm up the cheese.  The duration of the pressing stage depends on the weight of the curd.  After pressing, the cheese is immersed in salt water, with the cheese absorbing the salt to enhance its firmness and flavour; the salt also helps the cheese to stay fresh longer.  The cheese is then placed on wooden shelves in a warehouse to age for at least four weeks, with any remaining moisture gradually evaporating.  The cheese must be turned upside down and cleaned once a week, a process that was originally done by hand but is increasingly done using robots in large commercial cheese manufacturing facilities.  Young cheese is soft and mild, while older cheese is harder, drier, saltier, and with a stronger flavour.  Over the course of the 'ripening' process, the cheese maker drills samples out of the cheeses to taste their quality.

Photos taken 26 April 2026

The Amsterdam Cheese Museum at 112 Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) is open daily from 9:00am to 10:00pm, with free admission and free samples of over 20 different Dutch cheeses that are available for purchase in the museum's shop.

The main floor contains the cheese shop, selling over 20 different kinds of Dutch cheese, including many varieties of Gouda.  The shop also sells gifts and cheese accessories, such as cheese boards and slicers.  All of the cheeses for sale are vacuum sealed in plastic and approved to clear airport customs for those overseas tourists looking to bring home a taste of Holland.  Free samples of the cheeses are available in little bowls on each display so you can taste before you buy.  At the back of the shop are the stairs leading down to the museum in the basement.

A display at the bottom of the stairs leading from the main floor cheese shop shows off a 1950s vintage Berkel counter balance cheese scale and various historic implements used in cheese making.

The basement contains the cheese museum, featuring exhibits on the history of Dutch cheese and the process of cheese making, as well as numerous historic artefacts used in the manufacture of cheese.

A cheese press from 1870.  In the 19th century, peasant families traditionally gave such cheese presses as wedding gifts.  The press, with the married couple's initials placed on both sides, was placed in the couple's living room so it could be shown off.  The museum's cheese press is one of the oldest surviving presses in the Netherlands and belonged to the family of Johannes Bernardus, known for their good quality cheese.

A milk machine, consisting of four milking cups, a milking tube, and a pressure device.  Such machines keep the milk contained within a sterile environment and prevent external contamination.  On the bottom right is a milk churn.  As cows were milked in the evening and again in the morning, the evening milk was kept fresh by pouring it into a churn, which was then chilled to a temperature of 6 degrees Celsius.

A display of cheese slicers over the decades.  The first slicer was invented in 1925 by Norwegian carpenter Thor Bjørklund.  Since cheese comes into contact with oxygen when sliced and thereby reaches its fullest flavour, as with decanting wine, true cheese connoisseurs always use a cheese slicer.  Dutch kitchens contain an average of 2.7 cheese slicers.

A model cow and a large photo of a quintessential Dutch rural scene provides a backdrop for museum visitors to pose for a photo.

As the Amsterdam Cheese Museum is sponsored by Dutch cheese companies, several of the exhibits profile these companies, such as the North Holland-based Klaver Cheese, maker of premium, artisan cheeses produced from its own herd of 400 cows and 2,100 goats.