Mastering Basic Cheesemaking ─ The Fun and Fundamentals of Making Cheese at Home

The craft of home cheesemaking is exploding in popularity. However, most "beginner" books are essentially loosely-organized collections of recipes which lack a progressive approach to teaching the fundamentals of this exciting and satisfying traditional skill. Mastering Basic Cheesemaking provides a complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker to develop the intuition and abilities to position them for success, especially in the real world of the home kitchen.

This well-illustrated, clearly written practical guide assumes no prior experience on the part of the aspiring cheesemaker. Topics include:

Understanding your ingredients, tools and techniquesWhipping up "instant cheeses" such as ricotta and paneer while learning basic milk chemistryProgressing to fermented dairy products such as kefir, yogurt and sour creamUsing bacteria and coagulant to create spreadable and tender cheeses like quark, chevre, cream cheese and American style cottage cheeseGraduating to curdled, aged and ripened cheesemozzarella, feta, cheddar, gouda, and parmesan.

Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, homesteader or cheese professional, this complete course in beginning cheesemaking from one of North America's foremost instructors is packed with everything you need to create delicious, nourishing and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights.

Gianaclis Caldwell is the head cheesemaker and co-owner of Pholia Farm, well-known for its artisan, aged raw milk cheeses, and for its educational offerings. She is the author ofMastering Artisan Cheesemaking, The Small-Scale Cheese Business, andThe Small-Scale Dairy.