The best cheese markets in the Netherlands

Everyone knows that the Dutch love their cheese. They will happily eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and even as a bar snack in the evenings. While you can buy cheese from your local supermarket or cheese specialist, there’s something a bit special about experiencing a traditional cheese market in the Netherlands.

Why are the Dutch so famous for their cheese?

The Dutch have made cheese for centuries - perhaps from as far back as 800 BC! It’s deeply embedded in their culture and their cuisine. Some parts of the Netherlands are even synonymous with it - many more people will know Edam, Gouda and Beemster as cheeses than know they are Dutch towns and places.

You can’t produce something for as long as the Netherlands has produced cheese and not get good at it. Dutch cheese is famous around the world precisely because it’s of such high quality and has such a delicious flavour. Also in its favour is the fact that the Dutch favour hard cheeses that have a long shelf-life - perfect for selling overseas, even back when such journeys could take weeks.

Traditional cheese markets in the Netherlands

A cheese market in the Netherlands isn’t just a place to buy cheese. It’s a real chance to experience an age-old tradition, and is a lot more fun than visiting Albert Heijn. These huge wheels of cheese are obviously meant for traders and businesses. They weigh an average of 12 kilograms each, and no one wants to lug that home with them, however much they might love a cheese toastie!

However, around the edge of the main trading centre, stalls are set up for individual consumers, selling not only cheese, but also other Dutch delicacies, as well as traditional arts and crafts. Don’t come to a Dutch cheese market expecting to find a wide array of cheeses from around the world, like you might in cheese markets elsewhere. These are very much markets for local Dutch farmers to sell their Dutch cheeses. But when Dutch cheese is so tasty, it makes sense to have a whole market for them!

While the four traditional cheese markets do aim to attract tourists, they are not simply tourist attractions. They still operate in an authentic manner, and you will find plenty of local businesses there, buying their cheese stock the old-fashioned way.

One benefit of these classic markets knowing that they are popular with tourists is that there will often be explanations of the sometimes arcane rituals in different languages, so you can understand what on earth is happening. If you thought you didn’t need an explanation of a cheese market, you’re wrong!

What happens at a Dutch cheese market

Dutch cheese markets all take place on the main town square, with cheese farmers bringing their cheeses to be sold. First thing in the morning, setters arrange the cheeses out in long rows, ready for the busy day ahead.

You’ll see teams of cheese-porters (yes, that’s a real job – kaasdragers in Dutch), wearing straw hats of different colours. The colour denotes which so-called "forwarding company", something rather like a guild, they belong to.

These cheese-porters carry the cheese around the market on a sort of cheese-hammock slung between two men, and can carry up to 160 kilogrammes of cheese at once!

Traders get to sample the cheeses, before embarking on a strange system of clapping hands (handjeklap) with the farmer while trying to negotiate the price. Once a price is agreed, a cheese-porter takes the cheese to be weighed by the bagman (tasman). He gets his name from the bag of money kept tied around his waist.

Where you can visit a Dutch cheese market

These markets are no longer quite so common as they once were, but you can still go and experience this tradition yourself in four towns in the Netherlands. Each one has its own vibe and specialities.

Alkmaar cheese market

Alkmaar cheese market is the biggest and most famous of the cheese markets in the Netherlands. Alkmaar is extremely easy to reach by train or car from Amsterdam. Because the cheese market goes big for all the old-fashioned ceremonies and costumes, it is a huge draw for tourists, and it can get really quite busy in the summer months.

Being a popular market with tourists, the explanations of what is happening are often given in lots of different languages, including Dutch, German, English, Spanish, French and sometimes even Japanese!

Alkmaar itself also houses the Dutch Cheese Museum – just in case you still haven’t heard enough about the tangy yellow sandwich filler!

Edam cheese market

Unsurprisingly, Edam cheese market specialises in the delightfully nutty Edam cheese. Unlike other Dutch cheeses, Edam comes in a ball rather than a wheel, and is a much more manageable size, only weighing about 1,7 kilograms. Here, the cheese gets brought in by boat, and is inspected on the quayside before being brought to the town square by the traditionally-clothed porters.

This all takes place just outside the Weigh House, built in 1778 especially for cheese-weighing, which also has its own small cheese exhibition if you want to take a peek inside.

Woerden cheese market

Woerden is not a famous town, despite being a lovely, quaint little place which is definitely worth a visit. It’s a proper market town, with farmers selling their produce weekly, as well as hosting a famous cow market in October.

Its relative anonymity means this has remained the most authentic of the Dutch cheese markets. One part of this is that the prices agreed by the market master and the farmers get written up, and these prices set the trading prices across the whole country.

There are far fewer bells and whistles here, and, while there are costumed people around, you won’t find everyone dressed in traditional garb. However, the rituals of the porters and handjeklap are all here.

On the first Saturday in June, the first grass cheese is presented for sale. This is a ceremonially huge wheel of cheese, about the size of a tractor wheel, that weighs 125 kilograms! It's a big celebration day, and there are usually lots of other festivities such as live music and dancing. If you really want all the historical trappings, the final market of the season is a historical market, with the whole town getting involved and dressing up.

Gouda cheese market

Gouda cheese market is something the whole town really gets in on. As well as the cheese market itself, there are always a host of other activities going on that you can take part in, such as cheese making, traditional crafts, music, and cheese councils - you can even be weighed in Gouda’s iconic Weigh House (De Waag). If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a piece of cheese, this is your chance!

Gouda is extremely proud of the cheese that bears its name, and there is even a Gouda Cheese Experience that you can visit. This interactive exhibit takes you through the history and making of the world-famous cheese, and includes, of course, a tasting.

Experience a Dutch tradition

Cheese markets in the Netherlands are a unique mix of tourist attraction and wholesaler’s market. Whether you’re a fan of the dairy product or not, there is something special and exciting about watching this old tradition still playing today, every week in the old town square.

Video credit: YouTube / Holland Holiday