In my experience - same Gouda recipe with good quality pasteurized milk and raw milk - the raw milk cheese is an order of magnitude better. I am not completely sure why, but the whey I understand it:
Milk proteins change with the pasteurization process. Pasteurization heats milks to between 149 - 161 (my best understanding). Using raw milk, the milk (usually) gets up to 100 F at most in the cheese making process. I believe that the effect of the heat accounts for the change in the flavor, but what do I know? In addition using pasteurized milk requires more rennet, more culture and the addition of calcium chloride. I'm not sure if this is a factor or not.
Milk proteins change with the pasteurization process. Pasteurization heats milks to between 149 - 161 (my best understanding). Using raw milk, the milk (usually) gets up to 100 F at most in the cheese making process. I believe that the effect of the heat accounts for the change in the flavor, but what do I know? In addition using pasteurized milk requires more rennet, more culture and the addition of calcium chloride. I'm not sure if this is a factor or not.