American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them [Hardcover]

Clark Wolf (Author), Scott Mitchell (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2008

In 1976, Clark Wolf ran a little cheese shop at the base of Nob Hill in San Francisco; in 1980 he became the manager of the San Francisco branch of the legendary Oakville Grocery. While the rest of America was on the verge of a decade of a morbid fear of butterfat, Wolf was looking for a source of local fresh mozzarella and newly devoted to the joys of rice flour-rubbed teleme and four-year-old Wisconsin cheddar. Today, we are all knee-deep in bocconcini and fresh goat cheese, and Wolf is a restaurant and food consultant. But glorious cheese, particularly American cheese, is still his passion.

In American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them, Wolf gives us an in-depth look at the art and craft of cheese across the United States, and documents in words and beautiful black-and-white photographs the story of the talented and committed women and men who create this dairy ambrosia. He shares his expertise (with a touch of attitude) on how cheese is made, how to store it, and how to serve and enjoy it. Dividing the country into sections -- The Northeast and New England, The South, The Middle West, The Wild West -- he explores the cheese-making communities, discussing the kind of cheeses that are specific to each of the four sections of the country and profiling dozens of the most accomplished cheesemakers, from well-known national brands to the creators of small-batch, hand-crafted rarities. Each profile lists the kinds of cheeses available and contact information for producers and farms. At the end of each regional section is a selection of delectable recipes that showcase the best cheese of that area, from A Perfect Pimento Cheese of the American South to Blue Cheese Pralines from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Until just a few years ago, American cheeses amounted to little save variations on Colby and cheddar. Cottage cheese filled dairy cases, and Velveeta ruled the American palate. Cheese from milk other than cows was an oddity. Imports such as Roquefort had aficionados, and the only Parmesan cheese came in a shaker box. Wolf takes readers on a tour of today’s fast-growing American cheese producers. These individual artisans do not expect to compete with the giants of the nation’s cheese industry, such as Kraft. These entrepreneurs have their own herds of cows and goats and produce small cheeses, carefully aged, and sold in the nation’s finest gourmet markets. After an introduction covering techniques of cheese production, Wolf inventories America’s small cheese producers by region. His highly personal approach stresses the importance of individual initiative and idiosyncratic taste among the dozens of cheese makers around the country. A few recipes included. --Mark Knoblauch

About the Author

Clark Wolf has more than 25 years of experience in the food industry and is the founder and president of Clark Wolf Company, a New-York based food and restaurant consulting firm. His clients include major hotel companies like Loews and Sheraton, venerable institutions like The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Guggenheim Museum, and restaurants like Smith & Wollensky and Bradley Ogden at Caesar's Palace. He is a contributing authority to Food Arts magazine, and has written for Forbes and Cook's Magazine; he was The Cheese Wizard on AOL's website, Thrive. Wolf has appeared on CNN, Food Network and CNBC. He lectures and gives seminars to chefs' associations, food professionals, cooking and food service students and industry groups from California to Paris on subjects ranging from food trends, speciality foods, retaurants and marketing to restaurant real estate and finance. Since 1996 he has served as Chair of the Advisory Committee to New York University's Department of Nutrtition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition. 1 in number line edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684870029
• ISBN-13: 978-0684870021
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointing, January 26, 2009

By 

Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them (Hardcover)

There is a good deal to like about "American Cheeses", by Clark Wolf, but it depends on what you're looking for. I had thought the book would be more concerned with cheese itself....the art of cheesemaking, how cheeses differ, etc., and yes, the book begins with just that. In fact, it's a small part of the book but it's the best part.

Yet most of "American Cheeses" is made up of the author's favorite cheese places in the U.S. to visit and contains LOTS of recipes. In fact, the recipes more or less overwhelm the book, serving as a filler to the rest. Had the author taken us more in-depth about cheese as a history and as a product itself, I think he would have been more successful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A little self absorbed, January 18, 2010

By 

C. Burdick (South Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them (Hardcover)

Some of the more notable boutique producers were omitted or given a too brief review. Not a lot of new ground covered.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a friend we have in Cheeses, January 14, 2009

By 

C. McDaniel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them (Hardcover)

And he does a great job of introducing us to the farmers, cheese makers and friends he has met along the way. It's not a cheese primer, but a glimpse into how some of the folks who bring us a pretty common product, chese, also care for their animals and the Earth we all share.

Great stories well told. With recipes!