In over forty years of travel in France I have found my views shared by all who have a true vocation in the world of cheese. With their love and understanding of the land and the animals which provide milk for their cheeses, the makers of farmhouse cheese are the best guardians and restorers of the natural unpolluted countryside. Their products offer the richness and limitless variety of unspoilt local and seasonal flavour and aroma. They raise cheese above the level of an all-year-round, standardised, utilitarian factory food. Their cheese is a gourmet's heaven of everbeckoning delights. May this book lead you on to them... Patrick Rance

A French master fromager shares over 30 years of expertise in selecting, storing, and serving cheese - from Abondance to Valençay There are many books about cheese, but this one features the professional knowledge and passion of a French master fromager who shares his expertise on making sense of the many cheese varieties--crumbly, creamy, buttery, moldy--for which France is famous. From farms in the pastoral French countryside and cheese caves in a medieval Alpine monastery to the dairy scientists and affineurs who comprise the world of modern French cheese, no other book that covers the entire cheese spectrum. The book begins with answers to 70 commonly heard questions -- from why there are crusts on some cheese to why is mimolette orange and why cheeses do not all smell alike - and sections explaining the basics of cheese-making and ripening, the nuances of cow, sheep, and goat milk, and the alchemy of essential probiotics used as starter cultures. The main part of the book pays tribute to France's 45 A.O.P. cheeses - such as Brie de Meaux, Maroilles, Morbier, Munster, Rocquefort, Valençay - which have been granted the appellation d'origine protégée guaranteeing origin and type. Each profile features a full-page photographic portrait with detailed text about terroir and origin, selection, tasting, presentation, serving, and wine pairing.

An Amazon 2013 Best of the Year Pick The French, sans doute, love their fromages. And there’s much to love: hundreds of gloriously pungent varieties—crumbly, creamy, buttery, even shot through with bottle-green mold. So many varieties, in fact, that the aspiring gourmand may wonder: How does one make sense of it all? In The Whole Fromage, Kathe Lison sets out to learn what makes French cheese so remarkable—why France is the “Cheese Mother Ship,” in the words of one American expert. Her journey takes her to cheese caves tucked within the craggy volcanic rock of Auvergne, to a centuries-old monastery in the French Alps, and to the farmlands that keep cheesemaking traditions alive. She meets the dairy scientists, shepherds, and affineurs who make up the world of modern French cheese, and whose lifestyles and philosophies are as varied and flavorful as the delicacies they produce. Most delicious of all, she meets the cheeses themselves—from spruce-wrapped Mont d’Or, so gooey it’s best eaten with a spoon; to luminous Beaufort, redolent of Alpine grasses and wildflowers, a single round of which can weigh as much as a Saint Bernard; to Camembert, invented in Normandy but beloved and imitated across the world. With writing as piquant and rich as a well-aged Roquefort, as charming as a tender springtime chèvre, and yet as unsentimental as a stinky Maroilles, The Whole Fromage is a tasty exploration of one of the great culinary treasures of France.

From America’s most engaging authority on cheese, comes a groundbreaking book destined to become a classic.

The finest selection: Tasting notes - Over 750 cheeses - How to enjoy The most comprehensive guide to cheese. Discover the flavor profile, shape, and texture of every cheese. World Cheese Book is for the adventurous cheese lover. It takes you on a tour of the finest cheese-producing countries in the world, revealing local traditions and artisanal processes. Images of each cheese (inside and out), step-by-step techniques that show how to make cheese, and complimentary food and wine pairings make this a truly exhaustive, at-a-glance reference.

Discusses the principles of cheesemaking and describes the cheeses of Europe and North America