Gouda

Gouda is notable for histamine, tyramine, lactose and oxalates. Clear on salicylate, sucrose, FODMAPs, oligosaccharides, sorbitol, fructose, nickel and gluten.

Yes — gouda is high in histamine. Gouda covers the widest histamine span of any cheese here, and the name alone tells you nothing: a jong gouda is a four-week cheese, a belegen six months, an overjarige three years, and the gap between them is larger than the gap between two different cheeses. Read the age grade, not the name. Extra-aged, smoked and flavoured goudas are the ones to leave - the first for the ageing, the other two because the treatment brings its own reasons on top. Across a shelf of retail cheeses the spread is enormous and the variety is a weak predictor. Pasteurisation, starter culture, salt and ripening time are the real variables.

Yes — gouda is high in tyramine. Gouda spans the widest tyramine range of any cheese here: a young gouda is four weeks old, a belegen six months, and an overjarige - the oldest grade sold - three years. They are sold under the same name, and the difference between them on this axis is larger than the difference between two different cheeses. Read the grade, not the name.

Gouda contains only low levels of lactose. Gouda is the cheese in this group whose name covers both ends: four weeks to three years, sold under one word. The lactose follows that span - a young gouda carries around 2 g per 100 g, while a gouda matured six months or more measures under 1 mg. It is not on the list of cheeses found free of lactose and galactose, which is why it reads low here where gruyère and parmesan read none. The age on the packet is the number that decides.

Gouda contains only low levels of oxalates. Gouda contains no oxalate of its own - oxalate is a plant compound and this is not a plant. Young or aged, the difference is time and amino-acid crystals, not oxalate: the milk had none to begin with. Its calcium even helps the rest of the plate: it binds oxalate from whatever is eaten alongside. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.