Product Description

Easily accessible information in guidebook format
Includes 50 recipes, for appetizers to desserts, highlighting each of the 8 styles of cheese
Features a chapter on entertaining with cheese

Whether shopping at gourmet markets or at Costco, American consumers are seeing a growing, even dizzying, array of new cheeses. But as the number of cheeses has grown, so has the intimidation factor. Recognizing this disconnect between our voracious appetite for cheese and our often-sketchy knowledge of it, acclaimed cheese expert Laura Werlin decided it was high time to demystify the cheese-buying experience. Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials—a comprehensive introduction in a convenient guidebook format—is the extremely useful result.

Werlin’s book begins at the same place the flummoxed shopper does—the cheese counter. After mapping out the basics for navigating this daunting environment, Werlin acquaints you with the cheese fundamentals: the different kinds of milk used, information on rinds and mold, and tips on cooking with cheese, as well as a few words on Werlin’s passion—the American artisanal cheese movement. The heart of the book consists of individual chapters on the eight styles of cheese: fresh, semi-soft, soft-ripened, surface-ripened, semi-hard, hard, blue, and washed-rind. Following Werlin’s guidance, you’ll soon be able to identify a cheese by how it looks—and have a good idea of what that cheese will taste like before you even take a bite.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #174066 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Approaching a well-stocked cheese counter can be a daunting task for even experienced gourmands, but expert Werlin (The All American Cheese and Wine Book, Great Grilled Cheese) demystifies a global myriad of styles and flavors in this information-rich guide. Organized by style (fresh, semi-soft, soft-ripened, surface-ripened, semi-hard, hard, blue and washed-rind), Werlin systematically explains how each is produced, points out both rare and easily sourced examples of each style and offers elegant descriptions of the flavors, textures and unique qualities of particular cheeses in each group. A tasting assignment for each chapter encourages readers to taste small quantities of two or three cheeses carefully, with key accompaniments to bring out certain qualities; readers will discover how the sharp edge of lemon juice amplifies the sour tanginess of goat cheese, and that a bit of bacon brings out the smokiness of rich, creamy blue Stilton. Werlin also includes a number of easy recipes, including Brie Toasts with Chardonnay-Soaked Golden Raisins, Comte Pistachio Souffle and a luscious roasted butternut squash stuffed with Swiss chard and SarVecchio Parmesan. Rounded out with tips on purchasing and storage, Werlin's encouraging, adventurous and comprehensive manual is accessible enough for the merely cheese-curious while offering plenty to discover for those already well-versed in the subject.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
LAURA WERLIN is a James Beard and IACP Award–winning cookbook author, whose previous books for STC include The New American Cheese (2000), The All American Cheese and Wine Book (2003), and Great Grilled Cheese (2004). Werlin’s articles on food have appeared in Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Cooking Light, and Country Living, and she has been a guest on numerous television and radio shows across the country. She lives in San Francisco.

MAREN CARUSO is a San Francisco-based photographer who specializes in food photography. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Gourmet, and Bon Appétit magazines, and in more than 50 books, including Stewart, Tabori and Chang’s Great Grilled Cheese and Chocolate Obsession.

Customer Reviews

Best Beginner Cheese Book Ever
This fantastic book would be perfect for anyone who wants to learn about cheese. Laura's eight categories of cheese are an excellent way to approach cheeses and understand just by looking what a cheese is likely to taste like. For example, the categories she uses are:
+ fresh
+ soft-ripened
+ surface-ripened
+ semi-soft
+ semi-hard
+ hard
+ washed-rind
+ blue

She spends time discussing the common characteristics of cheeses in each category.
For example fresh refers to un-aged cheese which are likely to have a creamy flavor and generally a light taste. Soft-ripened cheese softens from the outside in because of a bloomy white rind-- brie is the classic example.

This is much, much more approachable for a newcomer than the usual litany of cheese types, names, and places.

Say CHEESE!!
Prerequisite: you want to know about cheese, you love cheese
Highlights:
1. colour pictures on each page
2. comfortable printing, editing, and reading (text size)
3. introductions and information of several cheese
4. how to enjoy cheese
5. simple cheese recipe included
6. Not a heavy book
7. Her personal tips on selecting cheese

Cons: it covers about 60% types of cheese.

Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials
This book is informative, helpful, instructive, and topics are arranged sensibly as well as beautifully. This is a book that can be picked up at any time, opened randomly, and one would find factual information about cheese types with perhaps a bit of history, or a delectable recipe, or instructions on how to care for a specific cheese type. Laura Werlin is a wizard on cheese, a food enthusiast who has common sense in her back pocket at all times.