Milk into Cheese: The Foundations of Natural Cheesemaking Using Traditional Concepts, Tools, and Techniques
By David Asher
Chelsea Green Publishing
Do you dream of curds and ponder over the proper preparation of rennet? Do you wonder about the dynamics of microbial communities and the quality of fermentation within the process of cheesemaking? What about brining, ripening, hastening, wrapping, waxing and aging cheese? Do you want to learn about the exact proper tools and materials needed, the techniques, and the recipes that will lead you on the cheese journey of your life? If your answer is “Yes,” then David Asher’s Milk into Cheese is for you, and I am guessing you will never need another book about cheesemaking in your life!
I am not a cheesemaker. However, I am a semi-professional cheese eater, and this book was like a long love letter to this glorious and nutrient-dense food. Even those like myself who have no desire to make cheese will enjoy reading about the “elements,” the “making and aging,” and the “techniques.”
Asher divides the book into those three sections and goes into fine and beautiful detail, taking the reader on an extremely educational yet somehow romantic journey celebrating oh-so-glorious cheese! My favorite section was “The Techniques,” which Asher organizes according to the four seasons; under each season are approximately twenty recipes for cheeses that bloom best in that time of year.
Asher also includes ten appendices at the end of his book that are reason enough to add this volume to your library and coffee table, covering topics ranging from whey culture to thermophilic starters to the cultivation of mucor for rinds and rennet. Asher spares no detail to help you make the “perfect” cheese using tried-and-true traditional methods or grow in your appreciation of cheese. Definite thumbs up!
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