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

EDIT: To reflect the failures of every HARD and/or AGED CHEESE WE TRIED in this book.I really can't understand the reviewers which criticized this book for assuming the use of RAW MILK, because the title of the book is: "The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses."It does include a few very worthwhile cheeses that can be made using pasteurized homogenized store bought milk, and for these alone I think this book is worthwhile, but it really shines for anyone who keeps dairy animals and therefore has a source of clean, fresh raw milk (and often more than they know what to do with). Our raw milk tastes good for weeks, and sometimes we start making cheese within 15 minutes of it leaving the cow. So our milk is impeccably clean and fresh.The first problem with this book began when we tried to locate Kefir. Cultures For Health's dried kefir never really came alive, and cost over $20. When we used to it culture anything, it ended up tasting rank and nasty. We tried live liquid culture Kefir from "the Kefir Lady." This too never really had any vigor, and resulted in everything tasting rank and chalky. Finally, we located a local source of fresh raw kefir, and boy this stuff was strong. Works very well, and cultures up whatever nicely. The problem is that it still tastes rank. I think Kefir doesn't taste very good because many of the organisms in it impart bad flavors. There is a reason, I think, why yogurt and cultured buttermilk and most cheeses use just one or two different cultures that are PURE and produce a good tasting product. With Kefir, you don't know what you are getting, and that is a problem of Asher's methods.Basically Asher's method is to use Kefir for everything and applied different manipulations to the cheese (more or less rennet, different shapes and sizes, different washes and salt and exterior treatments, etc.) in order to alter its flavor. Besides his recipes for paneer, mozzarella (both slow and fast), and yougurt cheese, all of his other cheeses taste to me basically the same, and every one of them after a few weeks develops weird molds that we have no idea if they are safe to eat. This includes his St. Marcellin, Camambert, Tomme, and Gouda, all of which we followed his recipe and methods painstakingly (even using Walco-ren rennet), bought a refrigerator and hacked it to make a cheese cave, and made clean wooden boards and bamboo mats to age with. Every one of these cheeses once aged about 3 weeks started to grow something weird. As the man of the house (and not being pregnant), I tasted every one of them, and didn't get sick, but the cheese tastes inferior to anything I've ever bought in a store. We have some in that cave aging, but we are not very hopeful. A whole rainbow of weird molds is growing, and we wash them off with whey or brine or whatever is prescribed. Things like this absolutely kill enthusiasm for such endeavors, and I think do more harm to at-home-cheesmaking than any "industrial cheesemaking book" every has.There is basically no troubleshooting section in the book to speak of. No guidance on how to get good kefir (or milk). No instruction hardly on how to treat aging cheese...he sort of assumes evetything is going to work.I am beginning to think that the people that gave this book props did so because IT IS compellingly written and seems to makes sense. The problem is that it just doesn't seem to work with enough reliability that a normal person is willing to INVEST the considerable amount of time it takes to make a hard cheese for it not to turn out well consistently and predictably.We have turned to using prepared cultures and a more sterile (laboratory-like technique) because it is not worth the time investment and the amount of dishwashing to make a cheese that may turn out poorly. It's worth it, in our mind, to use prepared cultures that will produce a pleasing and predicable tasting cheese!

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.

Love this book. I’m a cheese-making addict, who is very jazzed about using kefir as sustainable, simple answer to factory-produced, freeze-dried cultures.Update: several months of using kefir as a culture has taught me a few things. First, kefir smells and acts differently from day to day. Second, keeping the kefir grains alive all week until cheesemaking day is costly. Third, I prefer making mother cultures from freeze dried cultures.Sorry, Mr. Asher! I’m all about sustainable living, but I can’t open a six month old cheddar and find it sour or weird anymore. It’s heartbreaking.Hope others have great success with kefir as a culture.

I’m sure this book is worth having, but so much of it is taken up with the author’s dissatisfaction with draconian government regulations that I think it could be shortened by half if the (however justified and correct) rants were cut back enough to merely eliminate the repetition. I agree with him, but I hope I’m going to get to the practical parts soon. If you don’t have access to non-homogenized milk (I don’t yet, but my young heifers are working on that for me), I’m not sure there’s much here for you. To clarify, I am certain his ire is NOT directed at the naturally homogenized milk you get from goats, meat-breed cows, etc. If you can get non-homogenized milk, you can use this book. If you can get non-pasteurized milk you can use it more easily. For the lucky few who have access to clean, responsibly collected raw milk, have patience. You will eventually get to the parts you bought the book for, and I think it will be worth it. I hope so, but I have to wait for my cows to freshen in order to find out for sure.

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

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 necessaryI 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

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.

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.

Fantastic introduction to cheese making. The recipes work and work well. You do not need raw milk and it doesn't absolutely have to be unhomogenised either. You should probably get hold of some kefir grains though. I did and I haven't looked back. Simply brilliant asnd the cheese is delicious.I normally have a small surplus of kefir grains so if anyone wants some and I haven't eaten them drop me a message and I'll post you some.