Kaas
The Dutch word for cheese, and the vocabulary of ages, from jong to overjarig, that comes with it.
Also: Dutch cheese, boerenkaas, jonge kaas, oude kaas
Kaas is Dutch for cheese, from the same Latin caseus that gave English cheese and German Käse. The Netherlands makes and exports vast amounts, mostly Gouda and Edam, and Dutch labels grade them by age: jong, young, at about four weeks, through jong belegen, belegen, extra belegen and oud, to overjarig, more than a year old and often dotted with crystals. Boerenkaas, farmers' cheese, is a protected term for Gouda made on the farm from raw milk. Cheese markets with weighing houses and porters in white uniforms survive in Alkmaar, Gouda and Edam as summer events. Kaas is eaten thinly sliced on bread at breakfast and lunch.