The cheese world, like all niche communities, has its celebrities, and Betty Koster one of ours. She and her husband Martin own Fromagerie L’Amuse, a retail cheese shop in Amsterdam, but their international fame really comes from the cheeses they age and export. Betty carefully selects and cares for wheels of gouda throughout the aging process. We are rewarded with wheels of complex, irresistible cheese that our customers (and we) go crazy for!

Brabander is produced by a cheese cooperative in Brabant in southern Holland. Betty selects wheels of the goat gouda when they are around three weeks old and transports them to her own aging facility. There, Brabander is matured in higher temperatures than other goudas, and is painted with a thin polymer coating that allows the cheese to breathe and exude moisture more easily. These unconventional techniques allow Betty’s cheeses to achieve a more developed flavor more quickly.

Brabander is aged for just under a year before it reaches our shop. This means the texture is fudgy and smooth with flavors of salted caramel, butter, and just a hint of tang. This is the goat cheese for everyone, even if you’re a little unsure about goat cheese. Pair Brabander with anything cherry – cherry jam, a cherry Lambic, smooth red wine with cherry notes, cherry soda, cherry mustard, fresh cherries – or make it a dessert and dip it into melted chocolate for a unique sweet treat.