Leerdammer () is a Dutch semihard
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During product ...
made from
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
's
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...
. It has an ageing time around 3–12 months. It has a creamy white texture and was made to be similar in appearance and flavor to
Emmental
The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dai ...
. Its sweet and somewhat nutty flavour becomes more pronounced with age. It also has distinct holes.
Advertisement campaigns have used the slogan "De lekkerste kaas tussen de gaten" (''"the taste is around the holes"'').
The cheese is produced exclusively by the
Groupe Bel. The Leerdammer name is a trademark of Bel Leerdammer B.V. On 22 March 2021, Groupe Bel announced it was handing over the brand and its related assets to
Lactalis
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
in exchange for the shares Lactalis held in Groupe Bel, bar a retained 0.9% stake.
Leerdammer cheese is produced in
Schoonrewoerd in the municipality of
Leerdam
Leerdam () is a city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.
The municipality was merged with the municipalities of Vianen and Zederik on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is Vijfheerenland ...
, the city which gave Leerdammer its name. Generic Leerdammer-style cheese is sold as
Maasdam cheese
Maasdam cheese () is an Emmental-style Dutch cheese. Made from cow's milk, it is aged for at least four weeks. It ripens faster than other cheeses made in the Netherlands. Maasdam has internal voids, or holes from the ripening process, and a s ...
. Groupe Bel has a second factory producing Leerdammer in <