When unjustified beliefs rule the decision-making process, we move from science to mythology.

The emergence of Gouda cheese in the USA as a credible alternative to Cheddar as a table cheese is unsurprising, as it offers an excellent gastronomic experience. When young, the cheese has a smooth, creamy paste-like texture with a mild flavor, reflecting the type of feed used. It also serves as a great base for condiments. Only a few years ago, Edam won Best of Show at the WCMA International competition. A reduced-fat version of Gouda, Edam possessed the quality and flavor level to secure the win. This family of cheeses has always represented top-level gastronomy, but what has changed to make it a household name in the USA?

‍_{Traditional Equipment and Procedure}

The traditional equipment used to make Gouda was a round vat—not necessary, but an artifact of history, as round shapes were easier to fabricate. Many had wooden external structures, which helped retain heat and provided support for the lightweight metal liner—tinned steel before stainless steel became the norm. Historical wooden molds, banded together with tinned steel bands, also reflect this tradition. However, the round shape, tinned steel, and wooden sides have little to do with the quality of the cheese produced. Nevertheless, the wooden walls, bottom, and lid helped retain heat, ensuring the cheese didn’t cool before acidification was complete in the mold.

In our traditional round vat, an important step after coagulation and setting was cutting the curd. Most modern cheesemakers are familiar with the elliptical curd-cutting knives connected to the stirring mechanism in a round vat. There is a certain fondness for this system that often seems unfounded. There’s nothing magical about the elliptical, imperfect cutting process; it simply reduces something large to something smaller. The most uniform cuts result when all pieces are very small. The elliptical movement chases the curd around the vat, ideally cutting larger pieces while leaving smaller ones. Historically, a very small cut was needed to aid whey removal when the pH was elevated in the vat due to the use of washing water. It also helped because cultures were less reliable, and the smaller curd particles created more surface area for whey loss. Today, you can use larger cuts for Gouda curds because cultures are more reliable and better at promoting syneresis. Larger cuts lead to better yields due to improved fat retention and fewer micro fines produced by the attrition cutting.

Cooking traditional Gouda involved removing whey and adding warm water to raise the temperature of the curds and whey during cooking. However, what truly mattered was the amount of water and the thermal profile. The water washed lactose from the curd particles, while the heat created the thermal profile for cooking. Today, while it's still necessary to remove whey and add water during cooking, using heated water is no longer required—heating via the vat jacket creates a better outcome.

If you want to make fine washed-curd styles, a rectangular vat has several advantages - So let’s explore that statement.

When making cooked cheeses like Gouda or even Cheddar, continuous curd agitation is highly beneficial. The least desirable agitation system is one that doesn't, such as traveling agitator systems.

SDI Rectangular Vats Offer the Following Advantages and Benefits:

The SDI vat allows consistent outcomes across a wide range of cheeses. For Cheddar, it permits uniform cheddaring, brine salting, and pre-pressing under the whey. Larger curd Havarti-style cheeses can also be agitated without curd breakage.

The Advantages

• Built with a 10-gauge inner liner that won’t stretch or dent.
• Simple drive mechanism designed for long life.
• Paired with SDI’s unique Vat Control for Cold Holding, Heat Mode, and Pasteurization Mode.
• PID PLC control accurately achieves temperature on time.
• Available in 1,000#, 2,000#, and 3,000# vats, trademarked as the "Artisan Triple Vat."
• The SDI rectangular vat uses fixed agitators that keep curds gently suspended.

The Benefits

By design, curds do not settle in the corners.

• Cutting with hand knives yields curd particles with a high level of uniformity.
• Heating of the vat is extremely uniform due to the absence of laminar flow.
• The rectangular shape allows for pressing under the whey, yielding excellent results. Uniform and homogeneous curd bodies permit ideal, well-managed eye formation.
• Clients have reported increased yields with this design.

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Built for the artisan, without compromise.

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