The red part, of course, wasn't cheese. It was wax, and you had to unpeel that part before you could actually get to the bright white cheese inside, which was usually a type of Dutch cheese called ...

Cheese from Edam itself will be labelled Noord-Hollandse Edammer. There are also low-fat and vegetarian Edams available, both coated in the same red wax as the standard cheese. Edam with a green ...