Alkmaar’s Cheese Market
Today (March 29, 2019) is the first day of this year’s Cheese Market in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. It continues every Friday from 10 a.m. until September 27, 2019, in the Waagplein — the town’s main square.
The Cheese Market is the main attraction in town. Road Trips Foodies can find out how cheese is traded according to a tradition that is centuries old. A cheese market has been taking place in Alkmaar since 1365. Back then, as there was only one set of scales for weighing, cheese was delivered early in the morning, then weighed and traded on the Waagplein. These days, usually about 30,000 kilos, or 2200 whole cheeses, are lined up and waiting for customers.
It’s as much folklore spectacle as sale: look for the ‘kaasdragers’, or cheese porters (pictured, below), the ‘zetters’ (loaders), ‘ingooiers’ (cheese tossers), and ‘waagmeesters’ (weighers).
In July and August, there’s also an evening cheese market around the Waagtoren.
(Photos courtesy of Holland.com)
