Kaasmarkt

North Holland


On Friday mornings in season, waxed rounds of kaas (cheese) are ceremoniously stacked on the main square. Soon, porters appear in colourful cheese-guild hats, and dealers in white smocks insert a hollow rod to extract a cheese sample, and sniff and crumble to check fat and moisture content. Once deals are struck, the porters whisk the cheeses on wooden sledges to the old cheese scale. It's primarily for show but as living relics go it's both fascinating and entertaining.


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