CHAPTER XIX. 
EDAM CHEESE. 
338. Characteristics of Edam Cheese. 
In our best grocery stores one sees cheese put up in the 
form of round balls about six inches in diameter. They are 
colored a dark red or are of a bright yellow color, or may be 
wrapped in tinfoil. Each cheese weighs about four pounds 
and sells for a dollar, or at the rate of twenty-five cents per 
pound. The texture is perfectly solid and has a flavor much 
like an old Cheddar excepting that it is a little more salty and 
is a little harder. 
339. Origin of Edam Cheese 
By referring to a-map of 
Holland it will be seen that 
North Holland is the portions 
of the country lying east and 
west of the Zuyder Zee. Edam 
is situated on the Zuyder Zee, 
about twelve miles northeast 
of Amsterdam. Edam cheese, 
together with Gouda, is made 
in other parts of Holland, 
but that portion north of the North Sea canal on which Amster- 
dam is situated, and west of the Zuyder Zee, is especially de- 
voted to Edam cheese. Every week markets are held at Edam, 
Purmerend, Alkmaar and Hoorn for the sale of cheese. 
Fig. 85.—Map of Holland. 
340. Farming in Holland. 
A large part of the country is below the sea level. Shallow 
lakes or seas like the Zuyder Zee have been surrounded by 
dikes, and the water pumped out, leaving level stretches of 
land that grows luxuriant crops. The cattle are of the breed 
known in this country as Holstein-Friesian. There are a few 
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