Queso. Frommage. Käse. Cheese. Formaggio.
You name the country, the language, etc. and I would bet money that not too far off is a cheese worth celebrating. And boy, do I love celebrating cheese. Living in Switzerland for six months marked my entrance into the world of Cheese Snobbery. This very fortunate cheese snob recently landed herself in a cheese-named village, Edam, on the first day of their centuries-old Wednesday summer Cheese Market with a handsome Frenchman (and fellow cheese snob) by her side for commentary. What are the odds of that beautiful scenario ever happening again?
He (the Frenchman), being from Lyon, France and surrounded by a rich cultural history and wealth of cheese options considered this celebration of cheese a bit "corney". I, however, was giddy that such a crowd would come out for a cheese market on a Wednesday morning in a little town like Edam. We were, after all, clapping for cheese. Maybe it was the costumes, the music, the ritual of publicly testing the cheese or the fact that they transported all of the rounds first by boat and then by the shoulders of aged Dutchman - whatever it was, I couldn't stop smiling.
If you have a trip to Amsterdam on your horizon, I HIGHLY suggest dedicating a few days to the quaint neighboring town of Edam (30 minutes by bus) - specifically over a Wednesday to catch the market. The cheese is creamy and fairly mild, so no matter your palette, you'll most likely be delighted with the queso de Edam.
**Side note (nothing to do with cheese): Go to the Italian corner ice cream shop on the square where the market is located and order a scoop of the rum raisin ice cream. Then, after falling in love with said ice cream, go to the other side of the square to the cheese shop to purchase a jar of rum raisins to take home:) read more