Customer Reviews

200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes: From Cheddar and Brie to Butter and Yogurt

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I almost didn't purchase the book because of the title, thinking it was for beginners only, or that it might only contain kitchen recipes using cheese as an ingredient. However, this book is the real deal. As those of us who already make cheese know, cheesemaking IS fairly easy on the whole, thus the title. I think she was trying to remove some of the mystique of this ancient art, but if I had been her PR person, I would have insisted on a more worldly, much-deserved title acclaiming her incredible book. As a home cheesemaker striving for artisanal quality, I was wowed by her excellent recipes, (there really are a lot of hard-to find cheese recipes for those seeking to make lesser-know European style cheeses) , suggestions, information (ever spend days on a search engine trying to find out just how farmstead cheeses get those amazing rinds? You will now know! ), and yes, as a bonus, even some lovely meal-planning recipes to use up all this fabulous gourmet cheese you will be making. But cooking with cheese is not what the book is about. It is about making your own cheese from milk. Cheesemaking has been shrouded in secrecy, and has almost become a lost art in much of the world. It is a wonderful hobby, fairly easy, filled with benefits, and, up until now, filled with frustration in finding much advanced information. It is a real delight to find one source with so much information. The author is amazingly generous with her knowledge. She covers a lot of territory, with many pages for troubleshooting, and lots of helpful tips scattered throughout the book. The recipe list for how to make various cheeses is extensive, and covered here, more or less (Please forgive my typos):

Quark, Fromage Frais, Fromage Blanc, Cream Cheese, French Cream Cheese, Greek Island Mizithra, Shepherd's Mizithra, Vangelis' Sour Mizithra, Alpine Ziger, Traditional Ricotta, Sweet Ricotta, Chevre, Traditional Provencal Chevre, Brousse, Sheep's milk Brousse, Cottage Cheese, English Farmhouse Cheese, Fresh Goat cheeses, Mascarpone, and both Cow's and Goat's milk Faiselle,

Several versions of Mozzarella, plus Mozzarella di Bufala, Bocconcini, Provolone, Caciocavallo, Scamorza, Asadero, Kasseri, Saganaki,

Brie, Camembert, Camembert with Calvados, Coulommiers, Chaource, French Neufchatel, St.-Marcellin, Valencay, Ste-Maure, Selles-sur-Cher, Pouligny-St.-Pierre, Crottin, Goat Brie,

Castle-Blue, Cambozola, Gorgonzola, Fourme d'Ambert, Roquefort, Stilton, White Stilton, Blue Pyrenees, Bleu de Queyras,
Septomoncel,

Port Salut, Reblechon, Limburger, Meunster, Morbier, Brick, Taleggio, Monostorer, Esrom, Tilsit,

Colby, Edam, Gouda, Leiden, goat's Milk Gouda, Havarti, Raclette, Fontina, Bel Paese, Butter Cheese, Caciotta, Tomme,

Cheddar, Stirred-curd Cheddar, Chihuahua, Cheshire, Caerphilly, Emmental, Leerdemmer, Jarlsberg, Greyere, Appenzeller, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Wensleydale, Sheep's milk Wensdleydale, Cantal, Sbrinz, Manchego, Parmesan, Asiago, Piora, Kefalotyri, Romano, Pecorino Romano, Monterey Jack, Goat's Milk Cheddar, Goat's Milk Caerphilly, Lancashire, Montasio, Graviera, Derby, Ossau-Iraty, French Tomme, Raw milk Tomme, Colonia,

Feta, Paneer, Cumin Paneer, Queso Blanco, Halloumi, Libyan Sheep's Milk cheese, Tomme d'Arles, Chestnut Leaf-Wrapped goat cheese, Gjetost, Cabra al Vino, Handkase, Domiati, Gammelost, Liptauer,

Yogurt, Yogurt with skim-milk powder, Greek-style yogurt, Goat's milk yogurt with gelatin, Bulgarian-style yogurt, Yogurt cheese, Lebanese yogurt cheese, Labneh cheese balls, Kefir, Kefir grains, Kefir cheese,

Butter, Bacterially-ripened cream butter, Naturally ripened cream butter, Sweet cream butter,Ssalted butter, 19 different flavored Butters (such as morel mushroom butter, cranberry orange butter, etc!), Ghee, Cultured buttermilk, Buttermilk cheese, Buttermilk hand cheese, Sour cream, Creme fraiche, and Clotted cream!


This is simply the best hands-on manual for cheese-makers to come along in a long time! If I could only buy one book on cheesemaking, I would insist on two -this book and 'The Cheesemaker's Manual' by Margaret Morris. Even if you are a beginner you might quickly outgrow some of the other titles. This will last you through a lifetime of cheesemaking. I have made at least a dozen, and counting, of the more advanced recipes and found all of them to be excellent. Highly recommended!

I just finished my first attempt at making cheese from this book, and it was a complete and total success. I made the Ste. Maure and the Valençay goat cheeses. I was amazed that they turned out so differently since they started out with exactly the same curds, but the results were perfectly beautiful and delicious. I'm now trying to decide which cheese to try next, but I have total confidence that they will be equally as perfect. I have several other cheese making books, but I have found this one to be the most comprehensive, and now I also know it to be trustworthy in its recipes.

I have several cheese making books and didn't think I needed any more. A friend bought this book and lent it to me, even though I told her I had all the cheese books I needed. Then I started reading. I must disagree with the reviewer who didn't think this book was for beginners - I think it most certainly is. There are clear and detailed explanations and illustrations in pages 9 through 39. I've been making cheese for years, but had many "aha!" moments while reading through those pages. I immediately ordered my own copy.

Buy this book, and before you make your first cheese read these pages. Then you will understand what you are doing and why you are doing it from the beginning. I'm sure it will prevent a few spoiled batches of cheese. I wish I had had this book five years ago! It is well worth the investment, even for experienced cheese makers.

One aside - her cottage cheese recipe uses rennet and is quick to make, but I much prefer cottage cheese made without rennet. Without rennet, it has to sit for 24 hours to ripen and form curd, but it makes a more tender cheese, in my opinion. Don't let that stop you from getting this book. It has become my "go to" cheese book and it will be yours as well.

I purchased this book after reading the reviews here on Amazon. I've been making cheese at home for about about 2 years and like to get new recipes and have more information and have really enjoyed having the range of recipes it covers.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend this to be the first book a person purchases when they are new to making cheese. The descriptions of equipment and techniques are somewhat vague. There appears to be an error on p. 37 where pressing weights are listed in which the decimal points seem to be off by one decimal place and should probably be listed as: Light pressure = .5 to 1. psi; Medium pressure = 1. to 2. psi. Firm pressure = 2.0 to 4.5 psi. (rather than 5-10, 10-20, and 10-45...a lot of pressure to be sure!!!) There is no discussion of the issue of psi as it relates to the diameter of the follower vs. direct weight that is listed in many recipes you find in books or on the web which makes it very hard for a person reading those numbers to know exactly what they mean.

If I had started out with this book I think I would have been very discouraged and come away believing that it was much harder than it is - and possibly I would have never tried. All in all, I would say that this book is a good source for many recipes AFTER a person has learned the basics and knows the processes.

For a person brand-new to cheesemaking I would recommend that they start with Ricki Carrol's "Home Cheesemaking" for a good description and illustrations of the basics, and possibly, "Making Artisan Cheese" by Tim Smith which has a lot of good photography but isn't quite so good with covering the basics in the detail that Ms. Carrol does in her book.

I found this to be the most helpful and clear cut of all the books I have tried. I like the fact that most of the cheese batches start with 4 gal of milk. A little weak in the yogurt/kefir section (use a commercial starter...not!)
I have so far done Jack cheddar Parmesan Fontina a bunch of soft cheeses, And have yet to have a failure.
A great resource

I've only had this book for a few weeks but am very enthusiastic about it. The recipes are complete, reliable, and often fun. There are many more recipes in this book than you will find in any other, including many recipes for cheeses that you cannot find elsewhere. It's not a good book for a beginner because its explanations of the basics is cursory. But for solid recipes 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes is the best!

After I decided making cheese at home I checked several books about cheese making from the library. I liked this so much that I bought this book and the one by R. Carroll from New England Cheese Making Co. I truly enjoy both but I keep returning to this book to follow the recipes. I find it extremely user friendly and if you follow the instructions to the letter you will get a pretty good cheese. The first section is highly instructional for someone starting in cheese making.
The book is not perfect but it is excellent. I highly recommend it
Wish list:
* I would like this book to include advice or instructions on how to make your own cheese press. I ended following the directions from fias co farm dot com (no spaces).
* Instructions or suggestions on how to make your own cheese molds. I also got those elsewhere
* Incubation times if using homemade starters from yogurt or buttermilk (the book uses frozen direct set starters that must be bought from a cheese making supply co.)
*The book does not contain pictures of the process with the recipes

They can't all be beginner books, and this one's not. (Would you expect an "Easy Piano Classics" book of sheet music to teach you how to play piano? Of course not.) If you've got a little cheesemaking experience under your belt, this is a fantastic book with recipes that are easy to follow, and good variations on many cheeses. There really is something for every cheesemaker here. Learn the craft elsewhere, and buy this book for its huge variety of easy (and tasty!) small-batch recipes that are easy to make in even an apartment kitchen like mine. My husband especially enjoyed the neufchatel.

I love this book. It has clear, easy - to - perform recipes for some commonly available commercial cheeses that I could not find recipes for anywhere else. This is now my most-used book.

I've read a number of books on cheesemaking at home, and this is the one I've chosen to actually purchase out of many. It's easy to understand, and offers, not only recipes for making the cheeses but ways to use the finished product. She gives info on each type (like yield per gallon of milk, and what you can do with the leftover whey - don't throw it out!) to decide whether you want to go to the trouble of making it. She goes even further, with how-tos for fermenting kefir, making flavored butters, troubleshooting when something doesn't go the way you expected. The book is very comprehensive and offers a glossary, sources for supplies and materials, how to make your own cultures, and an excellent index.

Many books on cheesemaking are actually written for commercial cheesemakers. This one is specifically for the home cheesemaker. I bought it and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in making cheeses at home.