""The Life of Cheese" is the definitive work on America's artisanal food revolution. Heather Paxson's engaging stories are as rich, sharp, and well-grounded as the product she scrutinizes. A must read for anyone interested in fostering a sustainable food system." Warren Belasco, author of "Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food" "Heather Paxson's lucid and engaging book, "The Life of Cheese," is a gift to anyone interested in exploring the wonderful and wonderfully complex realities of artisan cheesemaking in the United States. Paxson deftly integrates careful considerations of the importance of sentiment, value and craft to the work of cheesemakers with vivid stories and lush descriptions of their farms, cheese plants and cheese caves. While she beguiles you with the stories and tastes of cheeses from Vermont, Wisconsin and California, she also asks you to envision a post-pastoral ethos in the making. This ethos reconsiders contemporary beliefs about America's food commerce and culture, reimagines our relationship to the natural world, and redefines how we make, eat, and appreciate food. For cheese aficionados, food activists, anthropologists and food scholars alike, reading "The Life of Cheese" will be a transformative experience." Amy Trubek, author of "The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir"

"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 basedon 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 ofthe 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 bookoffers 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"--Provided by publisher.

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

"Rebecca Rule brings her Yankee style, love of all things New Hampshire, and natural wit to the allure of the country store. It's a taste of cheddar, the briny scent of the pickle barrel, creak of the floorboards, and the call of the clerk greeting a daily customer that somehow feels just right. It reminds us of home. The old-fashioned country store has been idolized by poets, artists and writers alike, but Calef's Country Store is special. Rule shares the intriguing tale of a family-owned store that became a true community center-a place to warm the bones-set among the stories of Joel Sherburne. A Calef's employee for sixty years, Joel is a lover of cheese, prankster of high regard, and a life-long volunteer in his hometown of Barrington. In Sixty Years of Cuttin' the Cheese we learn his tips for how to care for your cheese, and we are introduced to his Joelisms, like "Set you back a week." As in: "When Billy Calef sat Joel down and told him the store was to be sold out of the family, well, that set him back a week." Today Joel enjoys the friendship of the new owners, Greg Bolton and Len Angelo, whose vision of the old, enhanced by the new, has brought Calef's to its 150th anniversary year with style and a thriving, mail-order cheese trade. Illustrated with period photographs, Sixty Years of Cuttin' the Cheese includes twenty-two secret recipes from Calef's kitchen, like Cheddar Cheese Crisps, Apple Cranberry Cheddar Muffins, and Smoky Cheese Chowder. So sit back with a plate of Rat Trap Cheddar and some gingersnaps, and reminisce with Joel and Becky around the old woodstove"--P. [4] of cover.

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

Make fresh cheese at home—in under an hour! Through recipes that are specific, accessible, and rated easy, easier, and easiest, Claudia Lucero shows step-by-step—with every step photographed in full color—exactly how to make sixteen fresh cheeses at home, in an hour or less, using commonly available ingredients and tools. Just as tasty are the recipes that accompany each cheese, from No-Bake Cheese Tartlet (top it with fresh blue berries) to Squeaky “Pasta” Primavera (cheese curds that stand in for the pasta). One-Hour Cheese also shows how to make butter, ghee, and yogurt. Plus, all about milk choices, rennet, all-natural flavors, shaping, storage, and more—it’s a complete beginning cheesemaker’s education.

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.