[ad_1]
Small wheels of Gouda cheese line the shelves at ‘t Kaaswinkeltje cheese shop in Gouda, the Netherlands.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Hide title
Toggle Title
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Small wheels of Gouda cheese line the shelves at ‘t Kaaswinkeltje cheese shop in Gouda, the Netherlands.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
In July, we received an email from Jelle Peterse. Jelle lives in the Netherlands and works in a very Dutch industry. Jelle’s company distributes cheese to buyers all over the world. The Netherlands is actually the second largest cheese exporter in the world, second only to Germany. Cheeses produced in the Netherlands include Gouda, Edam, Old Amsterdam, and more. Last year, the Netherlands produced more than 2 billion pounds of cheese, more than half of which was Gouda.
Jelle Peterse is a supply chain expert at a large Dutch cheese company.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Hide title
Toggle Title
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Jelle Peterse is a supply chain expert at a large Dutch cheese company.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
The Dutch cheese industry is so large and old that everyone knows everyone else. Jelle explains that family connections sometimes go back hundreds of years; the Dutch cheese industry is steeped in tradition. There’s even a secret cheese guild with secret rituals and mysterious practices (ok, not really – they have a website.
But Jeller wasn’t from the cheese business—he was new to all this. That made the problem he was hired to solve challenging. He was a supply chain expert, figuring out how to transport the company’s cheese. One of his most valuable assets was the cheese racks: metal racks topped with wooden planks designed to transport whole wheels of cheese.
Custom-made cheese racks are used to transport cheese wheels in a warehouse near Gouda, the Netherlands.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Hide title
Toggle Title
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Custom-made cheese racks are used to transport cheese wheels in a warehouse near Gouda, the Netherlands.
AMANDA ALONZIK/NPR
Jelle said they were custom made. Each one cost nearly $500. Jelle also had a problem with the cheese racks. Once the cheese was sold, the racks would be should But of the more than 2,000 racks his company owns, he can only account for a few dozen. Even in this friendly industry, Jelle’s customers are just no So he sent Planet Money an email, hoping we could help him solve the mystery of the cheese rack.
NPR’s chef Janis McLean suggests pairing this episode with an aged Gouda cheese, such as Beemster. For wine, a full-bodied red like Cabernet Franc or Pinot Noir would work well. If you prefer a younger Gouda cheese, you can pair it with Grenache or Chardonnay, or with a white wine like Riesling. Cheers!
music: “All talk, no action“”Barney’s Bagels“”Heavyweight,” and”Walking in the Snow“”.
Subscribe to Planet Money+ to help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes In Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
These links are always free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One Or anywhere you listen to podcasts
Find more Planet Money: twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Tik Tok Our Weekly communication.
[ad_2]
Source link
