Food Chain

• Share

Cheese was once traded like currency or cattle — and in the tiny Dutch town of Alkmaar, just north of Amsterdam, it still is. Located near Edam and Gouda, where two of the Netherlands' most famous cheeses are produced, Alkmaar hosted one of the world's largest and longest-running cheese markets, starting in 1622. The commercial trade ceased 15 years ago, but the frantic buying and selling is re-enacted every Friday from April to September for more than 100,000 tourists annually. At 10 a.m. in Waag Square, in front of the historic weigh house that now incorporates the Dutch Cheese Museum ($3.30; (31-72) 511 42 84; www.kaasmuseum.nl), a local rings a bell to open trading. Before bargaining begins, the buyer sniffs the cheese, bashes it with his hand to ensure the holes are the right size, and plunges a borer into it to taste the merchandise. If he decides to bid, he shouts out a price, which he accompanies with a hand clap; a stern clap at the end of the bidding seals the deal. Cheese porters, above, who have been hauling 160-kg barrows of sold cheese into the weigh house since the market began, are an equally big attraction. The men still belong to four old guilds; each guild is represented by a different-colored straw hat. If you're looking a piece of action, marketeers sometimes ask tourists to join in.