The Book of Cheese: The Essential Guide to Discovering Cheeses You'll Love

I LOVE cheese and we have "cheese dinner" often. I wanted a book that would help me expand my horizons without being overly complicated, condescending, or recommending fancy cheese and pairings I can't find or afford. This book is perfect! It guides you through the most basic to the most adventurous cheeses, gives tasting notes and fun details, calls out specific brands I can actually find, and has extensive food and drink pairings for all cheeses. I am really excited to try the tasting menus the author created, and learn cool tidbits about cheese. If I want to have dinner/drinks with the author, that's the sign of a good book. Very much recommend.

Found it! The perfect gift for family and friends who love good food, entertaining, and/or learning new things. The book is full of expert information about hundreds of cheeses, accessibly conveyed via clear writing, interesting charts and sidebars, and beautiful photos (the book’s production values are stunning). Ms. Thorpe’s “gateway” system, her lively style (the book is full of anecdotes about the history and production of various cheeses), and her myriad details about flavors, aromas, and appearance make exploring the world of cheese easy and fun. A great host/hostess gift (pair the book with a special cheese or a gift certificate to a local cheese or wine shop); a great resource for those looking for ideas for cheese-focused menus or events (the book includes suggestions for various food- and drink-pairings); a great read for anyone who wants to know more about the world of cheese. Loved it!

If you love cheese, this book is EVERYTHING! Very comprehensive but not overwhelming or snooty. I'm an adventurous cheese eater but I never quite know what to try next, or can never really find something I've been told is good unless I'm in a super-nice cheese store (which is not often.) Ms. Thorpe does a great job of breaking down all the cheese types by chapter, and has fantastic recommendations for all types of "If you really like ____, then you'll probably love ____." Don't skip the intro, either. Liz's backstory in becoming a cheese expert is very interesting and funny, and the intro is also super informative in how to get the most out of the book. The book itself is beautiful, with full-color photography and very aesthetically pleasing page design. Makes a great gift, as it sits perfectly as a coffee table book- I've already ordered several extra copies for friends and family!

I've tried other cheese books and been frustrated by cheese classifications based on technical cheese-making distinctions. This book succeeds in breaking down cheeses into easy to understand categories based on recognizable "gateway cheeses". Using this book we've had fun understanding and exploring different types of cheeses and figuring out which ones we like the best. The author is a true cheese expert and does a great job describing different cheese tastes, textures and smells, and what they pair with best. Using this book I finally have a reasonable understanding of the range of available cheeses and styles.

Cheese book for a data driven brain. I love how this is set up! Helps you level up your cheese knowledge

Game changer! I have been a cheesemonger for 16 years and I have amassed over 60+ books on cheese during that time. Liz Thorpe’s “The Book of Cheese” is the most inventive, creative, and logical way to approach the task of organizing cheese into categories that are easy to understand. Her use of “Gateway Cheeses”, cheeses that are readily available and their tastes commonly known ihas been an “Ah Hah” moment in my mind on how to help describe the gallery of cheeses offered to both my customers and new employees. This book couldn’t have been published 15, 10, or even five years ago. Due to a confluence of more Americans eating cheese as a stand alone food and the increased quality/availability of artisan cheese being made in the U.S. thie timing of this book is perfect. Save your money and start your collection with this book!

I really LOVE the way this book is organized. It takes the "if you like/love this, then you'll like/love these" concept so often used with automated purchase recommendations and expands the concept to cheese. It then adds to that foundation with by helping new turophiles learn how describe why they love a particular cheese so they can find others either in the same cheese family or with those same attributes. The main reason it looses a star is the author's early assertion on page 47 that (other than ricotta) it's not worth it to make cheese at home because "purchased cheese will inevitably be better". I've been making cheese at home for more than 10 years and I can say unequivocally this is NOT TRUE. First, homemade cheese is fresher than anything you'll ever be able to purchase other than directly from the maker. That fact alone means it blows supermarket cheeses away instantly and often puts your homemade cheese on par with all but the best cheeses found well stocked cheese sections of specialty markets/coops. Second, since most good cheese sells for $19-$25/lb and typical homemade yield is 1# cheese per a $4/gallon of milk. Imagine getting a whole pound of your favorite cheese for only $4 and some of your time. Couple those two points with the fact that the author continues to decry supermarket cheese in the rest of the book and it's really a no brainer for a turophile to give home cheesemaking a try. What have you got to lose?

Love it, love it, love it Normal tone, compares flavors and textures you already know.

Bought this book as a gift for a cheese lover. Very well received.

👍

It’s a great book, thinking about it, perhaps it could have been better in a smaller size.

Great book for Cheese lovers. Very informative.

I learnt alot as it was easy to understand