The Cheesemaker's Apprentice An Insider's Guide to the Art and Craft of Homemade Artisan Cheese, Taught by the Masters

Learn from a wide range of cheese making professionals and discover delicious artisan recipes with The Cheesemaker's Apprentice! This step-by-step book contains interviews with worldwide experts on everything from culture strains to pairings, while the easy-to-follow, original tutorials outline this fun, productive, and classic skill. You'll also find an array of mouthwatering homemade recipes that will help you apply these newly-gained tips and techniques, including: - Cream cheese - Ricotta - Havarti - Gouda - Cheddar - Gruyere - Stilton - Camembert Together, these pages make up an expertly-crafted, comprehensive cheesemaking curriculum.

Sasha Davies is an author and cheesemonger in Portland, Oregon. She started her cheese career in New York City as an apprentice in the cheese caves of Artisanal Premium Cheese, going on to manage the caves at Murray's Cheese, serve as a resident cheese expert for Marlow & Sons, and consult for cheese shops across America. Sasha serves on the board of the American Cheese Society. Her interest in cheese led her to embark on a tour of 45 American cheesemakers, a project documented at http://www.cheesebyhand.com. Her first book, The Guide to West Coast Cheese: More than 300 Cheeses Handcrafted in California, Oregon, and Washington, was published in September 2010. Davies has taught classes at the French Culinary Institute and the Cheese School of San Francisco. Other food writing by Davies has appeared in Mix Magazine, the Diner Journal, and the cheese-focused magazine Culture.David Bleckmann is an obsessed home cheesemaker in Portland, Oregon. Before cheese, he worked his way through other domestic culinary crafts including making beer and wine, preserving jam, pickling, curing bacon and other meat, and roasting coffee. This interest in creating food from scratch and a fascination with food science led to an immersion in the art of turning liquid milk into solid cheese. He teaches cheesemaking classes and writes freelance articles for Culture, and also maintains a blog and hosts a hobby cheesemaking podcast at his website, http://www.joyofcheesemaking.com.David Bleckmann is an obsessed home cheesemaker in Portland, Oregon. Before cheese, he worked his way through other domestic culinary crafts including making beer and wine, preserving jam, pickling, curing bacon and other meat, and roasting coffee. This interest in creating food from scratch and a fascination with food science led to an immersion in the art of turning liquid milk into solid cheese. David teaches cheesemaking classes and writes freelance articles for the national magazine Culture: The Word on Cheese. David also maintains a blog and hosts a hobby cheesemaking podcast at his website, http://www.joyofcheesemaking.com.

Forward: Alyce Birchenough, Sweet Home Farm, Elberta, Alabama, USA

Introduction

Chapter One: The Cheesemaker's Taxonomy and the Basics of Cheese
Interview: Gordon Edgar, Retailer, Rainbow Foods COOP, San Francisco, California, USA
Interview: Rachel Dutton, Microbiologist, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Chapter Two: Ingredients and Equipment
Interview: Catherine Donnelly, Ph.D., Professor and Codirector of Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAT), University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Interview: Ivan Larcher, Cheese-Making Consultant, Larcher Consulting, Cheniers, France

Chapter Three: Mastering the Fundamentals of Cheese Making
Interview: Cary Bryant, Co-owner and Cheesemaker, Rogue Creamery, Central Point, Oregon, USA

Chapter Four: Fresh Cheese
Interview: Paula Lambert, Founder and Cheesemaker, Mozzarella Company, Dallas, Texas, USA

Chapter Five: Tomme and Toma Cheese
Interview: Liam Callahan, Co-owner and Cheesemaker, Bellwether Farms, Petaluma, California, USA

Chapter Six: Washed Curd and Pressed Under the Whey Cheese
Interview: Helen Feete, Co-owner and Cheesemaker, Meadow Creek Daily, Galax, Virginia, USA

Chapter Seven: Cheddar Cheese
Interview: Jamie Montgomery, Cheesemaker, Montgomery's Cheddar, North Cadbury, England

Chapter Eight: Alpine-Style Cheese
Interview: Philippe Goux, Director of Sales, Marcel Petite Compte, Jura, France

Chapter Nine: Grana-Style Cheese
Interview: Giorgio Cravero, Owner, G. Cravero, Bra, Italy

Chapter Ten: Blue Cheese
Interview: Joe Schneider, Director and Cheesemaker, Stichelton Dairy, Mansfield, England

Chapter Eleven: Surface Ripened Cheese
Interview: Allison Hooper, Co-founder and Cheesemaker, Vermont Creamery, Websterville, Vermont, USA
Interview: Maureen Cunnie, Cheesmaker, Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Station, California, USA

Chapter Twelve: Affinage
Interview: Mateo Kehler, Co-owner, Cellars at Jasper Hill, Co-owner and Cheesemaker, Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, Vermont, USA

Chapter Thirteen: Selecting, Handling, and Storing Cheese
Interview: Hervs Mons, Owner and Affineur, Mon Fromange/Affineur, Roanne, France

Chapter Fourteen: Tasting Cheese
Interview: Christine Chenard, Director of Consumary Sensory Research, Cintech, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Chapter Fifteen: Pairing Cheese
Interview: Max McCalman, Maitre Fromager and Author, New York City, New York , USA

Resources

Contributors

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Index