The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional Methods and Natural Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial ... Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses

I bought this book over a year ago and there it sat, on my shelf, looking interesting for 12 months. It was a fascinating read and I love the *idea* of making my own cheese using Kefir rather than expensive freeze dried cultures. Yet I baulked at the time investment and apparent unsanitary nature of the whole process (David Asher is not a believer in hyper-sterilised environments). One day a few weeks ago I was clearing out some old cookbooks and got around to looking at this book again. I pondered giving it away, "You haven't used it in a year..." said my significant other. She was right. Yet something about the book held my attention. "I have to at least try one recipe," I said, smiling guiltily. She rolled her eyes. I made a list. A few days later (we had to wait for the Kefir to mature) we were both enjoying fresh Mozzarella. This was a turning point for me. I had always assumed it was a complicated, expensive process. Now, much the wry amusement of those around me, I am ageing a Camembert and Elderflower Wine-washed rind cheese in my dining room. Made only for the cost of 4 pints of milk from the supermarket (About £1.40 where I am) and some Kefir (Negligible cost once it gets going). If you can find a handmade cheese for that price let me know, for comparison a nearby farm shop sells small batch cheeses and their small brie (about the size of the one I am making) is £5. So... take that however you want. The book contains recipes for goats cheese, blue cheese, hard cheeses, soft cheeses, and some other interesting ones which I won't spoil. There is a master "cheese curd" recipe that makes up the foundation of almost all the cheeses and I have found that the instructions are very accurate and easy to follow. To the fellow moaning about the need for "unpasteurised milk", have you not read the clear section highlighting the use of Kefir in place of raw milk? The only fault I have is that the book simply isn't big enough to satisfy my appetite! I want to see a follow up to this book perhaps covering some rare and usual cheeses. Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a little side hobby or making impressive (and cheap) gifts. 5/5

The review above is misleading as it focuses on readability problems on the Kindle version, not on the content. I have the printed version of this book and it is simply WONDERFUL. Where other cheese books would have you rely on powders of cultures and moulds, David Asher goes back to the way cheese used to be made and allows us to connect with thousands-years-old natural processes. Everything is explained in detail (from the basics of biology to equipment and recipes from the simplest fresh cheeses to the most complicated alpine cheeses), with beautiful photos, clear instructions, a no-nonsense approach, making cheese a CRAFT again, instead of a science with direct vat inoculation magic powders and the like. This book will give you a deep understanding of the what happens in raw milk and how to control the variables in order to get the desired effect on the finished product. Look at his score and reviews on Amazon.com if you are not yet convinced. To me, this book is a revelation, and the only one in its kind.

The book is ver comprehensive, it has everything from milk to the final aspects of cheese. It has measurements in both metric and imperial units, the same goes for temperature, it has Celsius and Fahrenheit. The autor doesn't rely on store bought items, which is great for those of us who prefer to use the traditional way, he uses his own, home bred, fungus cultures to make the different cheeses, and teaches how to safely create those cultures too. It's a very simple to follow book, with plenty of recipes and very easy terminology. Great for both the beginners and the more advanced cheesemakers.

I ordered this book to post to spain, so worked out expensive but I didn't want a kindle version, I wanted to book to refer to when necessary I would say this book is more suited to a beginner cheese maker. I have used a couple of the recipes but I mainly bought this book hoping to find out more of working with natural rennet and that section is quite brief. It is about natural cheesemakkng and as registered cheesemakers these are methods we can't practise due to health and hygiene laws. It's a lovely book to keep for reference recipes and an interesting to read for anyone interested in cheese

Excellent for not using chemicals.

The book has only arrived a couple of days and I have been glued to it already. Looking forward to trying out cheese making from our goats milk in the coming months, the natural way, the way cheese was made for thousands of years. Great book.

My partner gave me this book after he saw how much I was starting to tare my hair out over the fact that it seemed like the only way possible to make cheese was to buy in a specific culture. I always had a feeling is must be possible to culture your own local/signature cheese and not rely on shop bought 'real' cheese cultures. Reading this booked proved that it is possible to be truly self sufficient with cheese making and gave me the encouragement and mind set to start experimenting. We have a small herd of dairy goats on our permaculture designed homestead and it was great that the author discusses goats and many styles of goats cheese throughout the book. I have since made several cheeses, built a cheese cave and bonded with my goats even more knowing how valuable their milk is. You can watch our experiments with natural cheese making over at the Tap o' Noth Farm Youtube Channel. Can't recommend this book enough.

A real honest cheesemaker's book, with all the information you need to make natural cheeses. It's a bit lengthy in parts, but worth reading to get the full picture. I am lucky enough to live in the Dorset countryside next to a source of raw Guernsey milk, which is a must for natural cheesemaking.

Super Buch! Ausführlich, trotzdem leicht verständlich, interessant und anschaulich! Macht sehr Spaß, Käse selber zu machen! Unbedingt zu empfehlen

I write this review on the day of release, after having read through the book somewhat thoroughly. Obviously, It's hard to write a review on a recipe book without having tried a few recipes from it at least, this being a cheesemaking book and having most of the recipes require months, I hope you'll humor me. I have many cheesemaking books. I've had successes making various cheeses, but I've never gotten serious about the craft. I just may after reading this. The reason? Everything is so APPROACHABLE. David Asher is to cheesemaking as Sandor Katz is to fermentation (a point further made since Mr. Katz wrote the foreword.) He takes something that's been done for ages that's been so sterilized to be unrecognizable, and takes it back to how it's been done for ages. I'm sure many of you who are interested in cheesemaking have looked at recipes for a cheese and thought "how did they get a thermophilic culture, keep it at exactly 82 degrees for 80 minutes over a wooden fire, and keep it in a sterile cheese cave?" Of course they didn't, they had tradition. What we have now is meticulous and repeatable, but I'd argue is a bit soulless. What Mr. Asher is bringing back is the soul. He steps you logically through every step. He even shows you how to HARVEST YOUR OWN RENNET. Think about that for a second. When was the last time you saw a cheesemaking book go into more than a page of info about rennet? I actually happened upon David's (very infrequently updated) blog by happenstance, looking for a recipe for homemade blue cheese. I loved the way he wrote, and the passion he clearly held for cheesemaking. It carried over well in this book. It's an absolute joy, and so approachable. If you're anything like I am, a lot of cheesemaking is a mystery. Why should I get this culture over that one? How did these cultures come about? Why can't I use what's floating around my house? It's all explained here, simple enough for a dummy like me to be excited to try it out. Blue cheese culture? He shows you how to cultivate it on your own. It's amazing. Who'd have thought a moldy piece of sourdough bread was something you didn't want to throw out? I've learned more in this book in one day of owning it than I have reading my (I think 8 now) other cheesemaking books over years. Perhaps they primed me to know what Mr. Asher is talking about a bit better. I've had several "aha" moments though, things I didn't even know I didn't know suddenly making a whole lot of sense. I know I've said it before, but again, the word of the day here is "approachable". It takes away the mystery and puts the power of cheesemaking in your hands. I haven't been so excited about a cookbook in a long time. He discusses and shows how to make pretty much any cheese I can think of. From fresh cheeses such as paneer and mozz, to goat cheeses (chevre) to blue cheeses, to swiss cheeses. Common standbys like cheddar are obviously included as well. He takes you through all the important parts of cheesemaking, from his chapter on why he wrote this book and why natural cheesemaking is something worth pursuing, to milk and how to source it (raw, please!). He talks about all the different cultures and how to...culture them (a real eye opener for me. Honestly, this is worth buying the book for alone, knowing how all this stuff comes about). Tools you need, making a cheese cave, even goes over salt and it's importance over a whole chapter. Guys, if you skipped down to the bottom of this review, I don't blame you. I'm rarely long winded or as verbose as I have been here. I only get that way when I'm excited about something, and I rarely get excited. Get this book. Get it if you love cheese. Get it if you hate factory cheese and want to shove some artisinal gouda up their factory's tailpipe. Get it if you're curious about how cheese USED to be made before you could buy a packet of "thermophilic A". Get it if you want to support a passionate author seemingly reviving the craft singlehandedly. The point is: Buy. This. Book.

I saw this book talked about on Permies(dot)com. it is an amazing book containing all the knowledge you'll need to start making your own natural cheeses. I am now using Milk Kefir as my starter culture which saves me buying separate cultures for each type of chess, plus it's safer (buy the book and find out why!) What I particularly like about this book is that it is not simply a collection of recipes, it's a full course on what why and how. David Asher is passionate about his cheeses and he explains in a very readable way what to do and why to do it so you gain a deeper understanding of how to achieve success. The proof is in the pudding(or the cheese) in the past month I've made clabber, ricotta, basic rennet cheeses and am currently raging some camembert and a 4lb Cheddar. This book demystifies the process, dispels a lot of myths and gives you the confidence to make wholesome, tasty high nutrient no additive cheeses. What more could you want. Oh, and my cheese loving husband thinks I'm wonderful!

excellent book :: must have

So very informative, even fun to read! I learnt so much about raw milk, yoghurts and cheeses culturally, traditionally and functionally. All recipes are easy to follow and laid out from easiest to more challenging. I don’t tend toward recipe books as most recipes I won’t use but this will be a staple to go to on my shelf.