Cheese Primer

As I peruse through the chapters and read the intro, I do realize that the Cheese primer is out dated, there are more well known dairies and local (award winning) cheese makers that are not included in this comprehensive book, but it is a vast resource, a great reference manual for those of us just getting into the industry as fans or retailers.

Item arrived on time and as described

Working in the specialty department of whole foods market, and having tasted my way through a hundred cheeses, i needed to know more! this book is great-- more about cheese than you would ever want or need to know. I picked this book because it is the reference book we use at work, and it explained way more different cheeses than any 5 books combined. the author is very opinionated--i dont agree with some of his blacklisted cheeses, but he is passionate about cheese. and cheese is an honorable thing to be passionate about. great book! and the wine pairings are very helpful--

This is a great book - packed with more than any one person could possibly ever want to know about cheese. Jenkins e starts out the book very well, giving you basics about cheese: the different kinds, how to serve it, how to store it, which to choose and which not to choose, how each of the different groups of cheese are made, etc. I read every page of the beginning of the book. The author is a complete cheese-freak...which is good. He knows a lot. But the one thing I wish he'd done is take into consideration us normal mortals a bit. I can't afford to pay huge amounts for cheese, and I don't live in NY near an awesome cheese shop. In fact, I don't really have a cheese shop except at the fancier grocery store in town - which does have a decent cheese counter. I haven't finished the whole book - I'm into the more detailed part that goes into many different kinds of cheeses. I know I won't remember it all, but it is fun to read about it. And I understand how to buy and care for cheese so much better now. And I love trying different cheeses, so I will make a list of some that he's described that I want to try, and see if I can find them! One other thing, he includes information about the historical aspects of different cheeses and where they come from, etc. and I found all that very interesting. Overall, it's a great book, and if you're a Foodie and amateur chef like me, it's really good reading.

A must have for any cheese lover. Focuses mostly on European cheeses. With a chapter on U.S. Cheeses.

There are very few "guides" on food that function well as an educational tool for the layman and as an effective guide for the legitimate professional. So much of this stuff gets tied up in junky enthusiast crap that often toes the line between pretention and complete misinformation. File this book with The Food Lovers guide as an essential tool for anyone interested in food, with a sincere and informed author that not only cares about his content, but about the reader and food culture in general getting all the proper details and the truths in food by looking to the fundamentals.

I have now become my friends’ and family’s local expert on cheese, just as I did on wine after reading Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson’s ‘Concise World Atlas’. This is a very down-to-Earth reference that is both detailed and conversational at the same time. Highly recommend it!

great book with good background and commentary. explains the what, when, and how of cheese. (taste, storage, and serving/eating) bought another one for someone else who was getting interested in cheese and she loves it. (also bought local cheese guide)

We've used this book often over the years when trying new cheese or trying to recall cheese we've enjoyed before. Gives great context and colourful descriptions!

Comprehensive.