Why Make Cheese With so many cheeses becoming increasingly available to the average consumer, you might find yourself asking the question, “Why create cheeses at home?” To this I offer three simple answers: quality, savings, and self-satisfaction. In short, I discovered that to learn to truly understand cheese was the perfect venue for a liberal arts major. And if it wasn’t the biology, then it was the linguistic history of the name of a particular cheese. If it wasn’t the chemistry, then it was the biology behind the type of animal milk used to make the cheese. If it wasn’t the history, then it was the chemistry involved in making the cheese. If it wasn’t the flavor that intrigued me, it was the history behind the cheese. As I ate and read about seemingly strange and unique cheeses, I became hooked. Those processed, soft cheeses fondly remembered from childhood, such as American cheese, Velveeta, and La Vache qui Rit (Laughing Cow), are sometimes the guilty pleasures of adults as well.Īlthough I wish I could say that all it took was one bite of a goat chèvre for me to be converted into a cheese fanatic, it was a gradual process. It is possible that one taste of the complex, hauntingly tangy flavor of the goat cheese called chèvre could convert a cheese neophyte into an aficionado. I eventually managed the cheese department in one of the stores, and it was there that my transformation began. Seeing that this was not enough to live on, I started working for the natural food retailer Bread & Circus, which was purchased by Whole Foods in the mid-1990s. In the early 1990s, I was a substitute teacher of high school history in Boston, earning fifty dollars per day. I fell into the discovery of this wondrous food by happy accident. Suffice it to say that appreciating cheese, let alone making it, were not activities I was familiar with. Growing up, cheese consisted of American cheese, Parmesan in a green shaker, Cheese Wiz (sad but true), cream cheese, and an occasional assortment of Gouda chunks. Like the vast majority of Americans, I had a limited exposure, at best, to cheese. INTRODUCTION If you were to ask me when I received my college diploma what I would choose as a career, “cheese” would certainly have not been the answer. White Stilton White Stilton with Blueberries White Stilton with Candied Ginger Blue Stilton Blue Gouda Camembert Fromage Fort Neufchâtel Crottin Muenster CHAPTER SIX Butter and Ghee Cultured Butter Ghee PART 3 BEYOND CHEESE MAKING CHAPTER SEVEN Serving Your Cheeses Assembling a Cheese Board Pairing Wine with Cheese Pairing Beer with Cheese Glossary Index Resources Photography and Illustration Credits Sources About the Author Acknowledgments Ricotta Gjetost and Myseost CHAPTER FIVE Advanced Cheese Making: The Mold- and Bacteria-Ripened Cheeses Techniques Equipment Needed PART 2 MAKING CHEESE CHAPTER THREE Basic Cheese Making: Getting Started A Few Words on Sanitation Techniques for Making Fresh, Soft Cheeses Basic Cheese Recipesįresh Chèvre Quark Yogurt Yogurt Cheese Cream Cheese Lemon Cheese Mascarpone Crème Fraîche Cottage CheeseĬHAPTER FOUR Intermediate Cheese Making Ingredients Starter Cultures: Mother Cultures and Direct-Set Cultures Equipment Intermediate Cheese-Making Techniques Intermediate Cheese RecipesĬantal Halloumi Pyrenees Feta Caerphilly Cheddar Cloth-Banded Cheddar Washed-Curd CheesesĬolby Gouda Edam Leiden Cabra al Vino Cooked CheesesĮmmental Gruyère Parmesan Romano Bra Pasta Filata PART 1 HOW TRADITION INFLUENCES MODERN CHEESE CHAPTER ONE A Brief History of Cheese Making Ancient Origins The Middle Ages Colonization The Industrial Revolution The Rebirth of Artisan CheeseĬHAPTER TWO Cheese-Making Basics Composition of Milk Types of Animal Milk and Their Influence on Cheese How Grazing, Season, and Geography Affect Milk Forms of Milk Cultures and Rennet: The Other Pieces of the Puzzle Molds and External Bacteria Other Ingredients Salt Ripening A special thanks goes out to my photographer, Allan Penn-a man who possesses a keen eye and a wicked sense of humor. To my patient wife Sharon, my joyful daughter Raya, and all of the friends and family who gave me support and encouragement throughout this project. TIM SMITH BEVERLY MASSACHUSETTS QUARRY BOOKS MAKING artisan CHEESE 50 FINE CHEESES THAT YOU CAN MAKE IN YOUR OWN KITCHEN
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