The Gouda Cheese Brand You Should Skip At The Grocery Store

The right gouda cheese can deliver nutty, creamy morsels that can instantly upgrade your next grilled cheese sandwich. Spongy in texture when lightly aged, this Dutch cheese can also provide firmer pieces that give way to a toothy crunch when aged to perfection. Whether you're looking to build satisfying meals or assemble an impressive charcuterie board, a well-made gouda deserves a spot on the table. 

We set out to taste some of the more common brands of gouda cheese you can find at the grocery store to inform future buying decisions. Unfortunately, one packaged cheese failed to meet our expectations. While store-bought sliced cheese can be convenient to rip open and slap onto a piece of toast, Finlandia's Gouda is lacking in both the flavor and texture departments. The tastes we appreciate in a fine Dutch gouda seem completely skipped over in this product, as samples of these lackluster cheese slices left us wondering whether this was, indeed, gouda at all. 

While younger gouda can lean on the softer side, Finlandia's strips of pre-cut cheese are flimsy and thin, bordering on what could be described as malleable plastic cut-outs. These gouda cheese slices offer a subtle bite, but the sharpness isn't loud enough to convince us that this is a gouda we are actually sampling. 

If you're looking for a gouda to confidently offer to your friends alongside slices of fresh, juicy peaches for wine night or want a satisfying snack to chomp on in between sips of your favorite bourbon, we hate to say it, but Finlandia's version just isn't it. We can imagine that if for whatever reason someone in your household has a strong aversion to gouda, this might be a compromise, but if you're looking for a cheese that presents a developed complexity of flavor, a noticeable aroma, and a satisfying texture to pull into recipes, we suggest looking elsewhere, like our ranking's top choice, the Rembrandt 12 month aged gouda.