Dense 18-month Gouda with heavy crystals, butterscotch sweetness, and savory finish.
OG Kristal, an 18-month Belgian aged Gouda from 'T Groendal. Butterscotch, fudge, boozy cherry, crunchy tyrosine crystals. Order online.
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OG Kristal comes from Kaasboerderij 'T Groendal in West Flanders, Belgium, an 18-month aged cow's milk Gouda that the name itself winks at: OG for Old Groendal, the farm where it's made.
The paste is dense and firm, the kind of cheese you break rather than cut, and when it splits you see exactly what you came for: heavy tyrosine crystallization running all the way through, the same crunchy little flecks you'd find in a properly aged Parmigiano. Flavor leans sweet and complex, butterscotch and fudge up front, a boozy cherry note underneath, and a long savory pull on the finish that keeps the sweetness from going one-note.
This is a standby at the cheese store for a reason. Aged Gouda lovers know the territory, and this one sits right in the sweet spot where the crystals, the caramel, and the savory backbone all show up together.
Dense and firm, breaks in clean shards under the knife with audible crunch from heavy tyrosine crystallization throughout the paste.
Big sweet-savory pull, leaning into butterscotch and fudge with a boozy cherry note running underneath. Bold but balanced, not sharp.
Long caramel and butterscotch finish that holds on the palate, with the crystal crunch keeping the sweetness anchored in something savory.
Eighteen months in the cave has dried the milk character down to almost nothing. This is concentrated paste, not fresh cream.
Brown butter and toasted nut sit right under the butterscotch sweetness, the calling card of a properly aged Gouda.
A quiet savory depth more than anything mushroomy. The wax rind keeps the paste clean and concentrated rather than cave-influenced.
No heat, no piquant bite. The aged sharpness reads as concentration and crystal crunch, not pepper.
Waxed rind
Thick red wax rind, inedible. Its job is to seal the wheel through the long aging, not to flavor the paste.
Gouda stands on its own, but the right partners turn a wedge into a moment. Regional pairings first — they were built for each other.
The butterscotch and boozy-cherry sweetness wants something with caramel depth of its own. Fortified wines, malty Belgian ales, and aged brown spirits all echo the fudge and dried-fruit notes.
Dried fruit and chocolate pull the cherry and fudge notes forward, and walnuts pick up the nutty backbone of the aged paste.
Video represents style and type of cheese - may not be an exact match in all cases.
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“A single-farm Belgian dairy committed to long-aged, Gouda-style wheels made from their own herd's milk — closed-loop production where the cows, the make, and the aging caves all live on the same property.”
Farmstead cow's milk Gouda pressed and brined on-site, then aged 18+ months on wooden boards until tyrosine crystals form throughout the paste.
Hand-cut to order the day it ships. Packed cold for overnight delivery.
Taste it for yourself →Cold-ship 2-day overnight nationwide
