The discovery of cheese is a narrative at least 8,000 years old,
dating back to the Neolithic era. Yet, after all of these thousands
of years we are still finding new ways to combine the same four
basic ingredients - milk, bacteria, salt, and enzymes - into new
and exciting products with vastly different shapes, sizes, and
colors, and equally complex and varied tastes, textures, and, yes,
aromas. In fact, after a long period of industrialized, processed,
and standardized cheese, cheesemakers, cheesemongers, affineurs,
and most of all consumers are rediscovering the endless variety of
cheeses across cultures. The Oxford Companion to Cheese is the
first major reference work dedicated to cheese, containing 855 A-Z
entries on cheese history, culture, science, and production. From
cottage cheese to Camembert, from Gorgonzola to Gruyere, there are
entries on all of the major cheese varieties globally, but also
many cheeses that are not well known outside of their region of
production. The concentrated whey cheeses popular in Norway,
brunost, are covered here, as are the traditional Turkish and
Iranian cheeses that are ripened in casings prepared from sheep's
or goat's skin. There are entries on animal species whose milk is
commonly (cow, goat, sheep) and not so commonly (think yak, camel,
and reindeer) used in cheesemaking, as well as entries on a few
highly important breeds within each species, such as the Nubian
goat or the Holstein cow. Regional entries on places with a strong
history of cheese production, biographies of influential
cheesemakers, innovative and influential cheese shops, and
historical entries on topics like manorial cheesemaking and cheese
in children's literature round out the Companion's eclectic
cultural coverage. The Companion also reflects a fascination with
the microbiology and chemistry of cheese, featuring entries on
bacteria, molds, yeasts, cultures, and coagulants used in
cheesemaking and cheese maturing. The blooms, veins, sticky
surfaces, gooey interiors, crystals, wrinkles, strings, and yes,
for some, the odors of cheese are all due to microbial action and
growth. And today we have unprecedented insight into the microbial
complexity of cheese, thanks to advances in molecular biology,
whole-genome sequencing technologies, and microbiome research. The
Companion is equally interested in the applied elements of
cheesemaking, with entries on production methodologies and the
technology and equipment used in cheesemaking. An astonishing 325
authors contributed entries to the Companion, residing in 35
countries. These experts included cheesemakers, cheesemongers,
dairy scientists, anthropologists, food historians, journalists,
archaeologists, and on, from backgrounds as diverse as the topics
they write about. Every entry is signed by the author, and includes
both cross references to related topics and further reading
suggestions. The endmatter includes a list of cheese-related
museums and a thorough index. Three 8-page colour inserts and well
over a hundred black and white images help bring the entries to
life. This landmark encyclopedia is the most wide-ranging,
comprehensive, and reliable reference work on cheese available,
suitable for both novices and industry insiders alike.
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