An introduction to cheese covers such topics as milk differences. rinds and mold, and the eight cheese styles and includes tips on cooking with cheese and fify recipes.

The James Beard Award–winning cheese expert and author of Grilled Cheese, Please! shares fifty recipes that revolutionize everyone’s favorite macaroni dish. No one knows cheese better than Laura Werlin. In Mac & Cheese, Please!, she shares fifty classic and creative recipes organized by fun topics, such as Porky Mac & Cheese, Decadent Mac & Cheese, Lighten Up Mac & Cheese, Veggie Mac & Cheese, Party Time Mac & Cheese, and Breakfast for Dinner Mac & Cheese. There are even a few gluten-free options! Laura also includes mac & cheese fun facts and tips on achieving cheesy perfection every time. Mac & Cheese, Please! even includes an appendix with info on Laura’s favorite food trucks and restaurants that specialize in mac & cheese.

Behind every traditional type of cheese there is a fascinating story. By examining the role of the cheesemaker throughout world history and by understanding a few basic principles of cheese science and technology, we can see how different cheeses have been shaped by and tailored to their surrounding environment, as well as defined by their social and cultural context. Cheese and Culture endeavors to advance our appreciation of cheese origins by viewing human history through the eyes of a cheese scientist. There is also a larger story to be told, a grand narrative that binds all cheeses together into a single history that started with the discovery of cheese making and that is still unfolding to this day. This book reconstructs that 9000-year story based on the often fragmentary information that we have available. Cheese and Culture embarks on a journey that begins in the Neolithic Age and winds its way through the ensuing centuries to the present. This tour through cheese history intersects with some of the pivotal periods in human prehistory and ancient, classical, medieval, renaissance, and modern history that have shaped western civilization, for these periods also shaped the lives of cheesemakers and the diverse cheeses that they developed. The book offers a useful lens through which to view our twenty-first century attitudes toward cheese that we have inherited from our past, and our attitudes about the food system more broadly. This refreshingly original book will appeal to anyone who loves history, food, and especially good cheese.

A robust sheep’s milk cheese studded with whole peppercorns. A sharp, clothbound Cheddar that pairs perfectly with a nutty brown ale and a dollop of mango chutney. A tangy, nettle-wrapped cheese made in celebration of the cows returning to pasture in early spring. A light and cakey goat cheese with notes of pine nuts and Meyer lemons. These are just a few of the hundreds of delicious cheeses with origins up and down the West Coast that Sasha Davies chronicles in her detailed exploration of this exciting cheese region. From just-emerging, small-scale cheeses to those that have earned international recognition, the spotlight is on the vibrant hues, bold aromas, and surprising yet palate-pleasing flavors that make these cheeses so unique. Rich with information, this accessible guide examines the key factors that influence the distinctive character of every cheese, and includes beverage pairing ideas, serving suggestions, and fascinating features on cheesemaking and individual producers. Whether at the market, your local cheese shop, or while traveling, this is the ultimate reference for selecting, identifying, and savoring the cheeses of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Just a century ago, cheese was still a relatively regional and European phenomenon, and cheese making techniques were limited by climate, geography, and equipment. But modern technology along with the recent artisanal renaissance has opened up the diverse, time-honored, and dynamic world of cheese to enthusiasts willing to take its humble fundamentals—milk, starters, coagulants, and salt—and transform them into complex edibles. Artisan Cheese Making at Home is the most ambitious and comprehensive guide to home cheese making, filled with easy-to-follow instructions for making mouthwatering cheese and dairy items. Renowned cooking instructor Mary Karlin has spent years working alongside the country’s most passionate artisan cheese producers—cooking, creating, and learning the nuances of their trade. She presents her findings in this lavishly illustrated guide, which features more than eighty recipes for a diverse range of cheeses: from quick and satisfying Mascarpone and Queso Blanco to cultured products like Crème Fraîche and Yogurt to flavorful selections like Saffron-Infused Manchego, Irish-Style Cheddar, and Bloomy Blue Log Chèvre. Artisan Cheese Making at Home begins with a primer covering milks, starters, cultures, natural coagulants, and bacteria—everything the beginner needs to get started. The heart of the book is a master class in home cheese making: building basic skills with fresh cheeses like ricotta and working up to developing and aging complex mold-ripened cheeses. Also covered are techniques and equipment, including drying, pressing, and brining, as well as molds and ripening boxes. Last but not least, there is a full chapter on cooking with cheese that includes more than twenty globally-influenced recipes featuring the finished cheeses, such as Goat Cheese and Chive Fallen Soufflés with Herb-Citrus Vinaigrette and Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Pear Galette. Offering an approachable exploration of the alchemy of this extraordinary food, Artisan Cheese Making at Home proves that hand-crafting cheese is not only achievable, but also a fascinating and rewarding process.

The highly readable story of Gordon Edgar's unlikely career as a cheesemonger at San Francisco's worker-owned Rainbow Grocery Cooperative.

“Clever versions of the American classic” from the James Beard Award winner for The All American Cheese and Wine Book (Publishers Weekly). Brie and apricot jam on a baguette; spinach and goat cheese on a croissant; blue cheese and fresh figs on crusty Italian bread: this is not your mother’s grilled cheese sandwich. In Great Grilled Cheese, cheese expert and award-winning cookbook author Laura Werlin presents fifty scrumptious grilled cheese and panini recipes that range from the traditional to the contemporary. In addition to the more inventive combinations, including grilled cheese for dessert, there’s always room at the table for the classics: grilled American on white, or apple, ham, and cheddar on sourdough. Werlin discusses techniques—nonstick versus cast-iron pan, whether to cover during cooking, how to use the ultra-popular panini machine. Maren Caruso’s tantalizing photographs perfectly convey the appeal of creamy melted cheese pressed between two slices of crisp, buttery bread. For cheese aficionados, parents whose kids insist on grilled cheese at every meal, and the kid in all of us who craves comfort food, Great Grilled Cheese will satisfy everyone’s cheese dreams.

A field guide to cheese-and-drink combinations that go beyond Parmigiano and Prosecco Cheese and wine are a classic combination, but many cheeses taste even better with beer or cider. Steve Jones, proprietor of the Portland- based Cheese Bar and Chizu (cheese served sushi- style), has been successfully matching cheeses with alcoholic beverages for more than two decades. Here he shares his knowledge by introducing 75 different cheeses and pairing each with the beverage that brings out the best in both. Jones provides a treasure trove of delectable, often surprising pairings, as well as simple steps for successful experimentation. This guide will function as a crash course for beginners on buying, storing, and serving cheese and alcohol, while offering more seasoned aficionados page after page of cheese-and-beverage combinations to replicate at home. With gorgeous photographs, this book captures the allure, approachability, and, most importantly, the sheer joy of pairing cheese with beer, wine, or cider.

Providing everything you need to know in order to present and feast upon your perfect cheeseboard, this book features 25 themed boards as well as accompaniments and essential practical information on cheese. Cheese boards are the ideal fuss-free, yet delicious and visually impressive meal option. Though traditionally thought of as just a festive treat, impressive modern incarnations have recently taken social media by storm, as people discover that they can be a show-stopping option for entertaining at any time of year. The 25 themed boards in this book offer the perfect cheese board for any occasion, from lively boards themed around wine, beer and cocktail pairings, to a wholesome kids' board and a picnic board. No matter the size of your crowd or your budget, there is a themed board here to suit it – from small romantic boards for two, to more extravagant aspirational boards suitable for a wedding. Each cheese included in the book is followed by a detailed description and ideas for suitable alternatives. Suggestions for store-bought accompaniments are included, or if you are feeling more creative, try the simple recipes such as Italian Herb Flatbread, Rainbow Pepper Oatcakes or Tomato and Smoked Pepper Jam. Essential practical information in the front section includes tips on buying, storing and cutting cheese plus much more.

One of the oldest, most ubiquitous, and beloved cheeses in the world, the history of cheddar is a fascinating one. Over the years it has been transformed, from a painstakingly handmade wheel to a rindless, mass-produced block, to a liquefied and emulsified plastic mass untouched by human hands. The Henry Fordism of cheddar production in many ways anticipated the advent of industrial agriculture. They don’t call it “American Cheese” for nothing. Cheddar is one man’s picaresque journey to find out what a familiar food can tell us about ourselves. Cheddar may be appreciated in almost all American homes, but the advocates of the traditional wheel versus the processed slice often have very different ideas about food. Since cheddar—with its diversity of manufacturing processes and tastes—is such a large umbrella, it is the perfect food through which to discuss many big food issues that face our society. More than that, though, cheddar actually holds a key to understanding not only issues surrounding food politics, but also some of the ways we think of our cultural identity. Cheddar, and its offshoots, has something to tell us about this country: the way people rally to certain cheddars but not others; the way they extol or denounce the way others eat it; the role of the commodification of a once-artisan cheese and the effect that has on rural communities. The fact that cheddar is so common that it is often taken for granted means that examining it can lead us to the discovery of usually unspoken truths. Author Gordon Edgar (Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge) is well equipped to take readers on a tour through the world of cheddar. For more than fifteen years he has worked as an iconoclastic cheesemonger in San Francisco, but his sharp talent for observation and social critique were honed long before then, in the world of ’zines, punk rock, and progressive politics. His fresh perspectives on such a seemingly common topic are as thought provoking as they are entertaining.