Cheese Database

Gouda vs Queijo prato

Gouda, field guide plate
Gouda, photographed

Gouda

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Waxed or sealed
Country
Netherlands
Place
Gouda

Gouda is a pressed cow's-milk cheese named for the Dutch city. Young Gouda is mild, supple, and often sealed in wax. Aged Gouda is hard, deep, and full of crystals.

Queijo prato

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Country
Brazil

Queijo prato is a mild semi-hard cheese from Brazil, and it is one of the pressed cheeses people there use every day. Dairies make it from cow's milk and color the paste with annatto, which turns it a warm yellow. The body is smooth and elastic, with few openings, so it slices into even pieces. Salt stays light, and the flavor is buttery rather than sharp. You will see it as a flat round or as a rectangular block meant for the slicer.