Customer Reviews

Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
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I love a good piece of stinky cheese. I enjoy taking it out of the fridge and letting its nasty old stank peel the paint off my walls, knockout my cat, and make the local children cry. It's how you know you gots yerself sum quality cheese right there.

Unfortuneatly, I must admit, my cheese knowledge is limited to about, oh, whatever I might have picked up from a cookbook or Food Network. Thank heavens for Max McCalman, may chiors sing his spoiled milk praises! For those who don't really know this guy, he is the man and fromager (cheese brainiac) who pretty much single handedly spearheaded the idea of presenting true artisinal cheeses, cheese courses, and giving cheese the kind of credit we give to wine here in America. He has become well known for his work in the New York restaurants Picholine and Artisinal, and luckilly for those of us not living shibby in New York, has gone out of his way to create a wonderful guide to the best of the best in his second book, Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best.

While McCalman's first book, The Cheese Plate, co-authored by David Gibbons, was a chic everyperson's guide to wine and cheese pairings, Cheese simply gives us 200 of the world's best cheeses. Listed in alphabetical order, each cheese is described beautifully and concisely noting where it is produced, how it is produced, how best to enjoy it, and the underlying flavors you should expect when experiencing it. I use the word experience, because after trying some of these selections, it really is the only appropriate word that the English language can offer me. McCalman also goes ahead to offer with each cheese a variety of different wines (red, white, and blush) and even some sparkling wines that should help you wow your party guests' palates.

McCalman, also understanding our blind kitten approach to cheese, also guides you through various aspects of cheese. Early chapters deal with how to select, store, prepare, serve various kinds of cheese. Later on we are given a thurough lesson on how to pair cheese with various breads, fruits, and nuts, or how to simply lay back and enjoy a piece unmolested by any other food. Basics for how to create and serve a cheese course or a cheese tasting party will inspire you to host your own (I know I plan to have a truly stinky one shortly!). Lastly, of course, an extensive, though maybe a bit too much so, course on how to pair wine and cheese. The watchful and caring teacher, he does this in a simple, plainspoken manner, allowing any reader to understand not only how to preform each task, but the why behind it as well.

I have to say, I would not have discovered my love of Lancaster, my passion for Prattigauer, my desire for Doddington, and how I give resounding praise to Roaring 40's Blue!

Overall, I give Cheese a 5 out of 5. This book is a wonderful addition to any food lover's bookshelf. It's susinct, informative, and covers a wide variety of cheeses you can find from California to Italy.

UPDATE -- I strongly urge those considering this book to take a look at McCalman's newest work, "Mastering Cheese." It is far more comprehensive and informative. It does not utilize the "100 point" rating scale that I found such an unnecessary distraction in this volume. In short, "Mastering Cheese" is truly McCalman's magnum opus and a book I recommend without any reservation. Granted, this "Connoisseur's Guide" is an attractive book in some ways. For cheese lovers, its close up color photos of the featured cheeses will verge on soft core dairy porn.

But if you are going to buy just one reference work on cheese, the "Connoisseur's Guide" would not be it. I urge you to look instead at McCalman's "Mastering Cheese" -- which is his masterwork.

The "Connoisseur's Guide" reviewed here is a useful, albeit somewhat limited reference guide, as it highlights only a handful of the many cheeses of the world -- McCalman's hand picked selection of "The World's Best." There is reasonably good introductory advice about cheese selection, caring for your cheese purchases, ideas for matching with wine and combining for a cheese plate.

However, where McCalman runs off the rails is his seemingly unnecessary and certainly inappropriate use of the dreaded "100 point rating scale." This is a silly exercise when applied to wine -- it is even more ludicrous when applied to cheese. On what basis is Laguiole a "91 point quality" cheese; Rogue River blue a 93 pointer; Humboldt Fog a 75 pointer; Pecorino Toscano 81 points; Soumaintrain an 80 pointer; Selles sur Cher an 89. To begin with, every one of these cheeses will vary wildly. A particular piece of Soumaintrain may be fabulous or fabulously boring -- and ditto any other cheese. Spend ten days in France, for example, and after the dinner cheese cart has come and gone ten times you will have learned, if nothing else, that every cheese will be different from restaurant to restaurant and from one night of the week to the next.

Furthermore, these "quality ratings" seem to reflect nothing more or less than McCalman's personal preferences or a particularly wonderful example of cheese X he may have stumbled across at some point. How else would Gouda, a wildly variable cheese that appears in a wide range from dull uninspired commercial to mature and complex farmhouse forms, merit a "96" without further elaboration, while Brin d'Amour, potentially fabulous stuff, pulls an 80, Chaource a 74? A good piece of Sbrinz is a smash with old Bordeaux -- but is it really a "99 point cheese"? I have no idea what the basis for these "quality scores" might be -- and unless I missed it, the book doesn't explain the scoring method either. Even if it did, that would not make the practice any more justifiable.

I can see it now. Just as there are those who fill their wine cellars strictly by the numbers, who will buy nothing but WS or WA "90 point and up" wines and refuse to look at anything at 89 and points south, there will be folks who will not touch any cheese rated under 90 -- and who will also put anything on a platter that scores 90 or over, no matter how terrific or abysmal the reality of the cheese in front of them may be. Rather than develop their own sense and sensibility about cheese (or anything else), they will color by numbers, encouraged by the likes of Robert Parker and now Max McCalman. "Parker gave the wine a 92 and McCalman says this cheese is a 96" -- "the wine" being some flaccid oak chipped, micro-oxygenated, acid and alcohol adjusted Australian shiraz and "this cheese" being a low fat, underripe, spongy and bland Gouda bought in a plastic vacuum pack at the corner Jiffy Mart.

The 100 point scoring thing is utter stuff and nonsense -- a holdover from grade school. While McCalman has done much to get Americans to start paying attention to cheese -- the endpapers call him "the unofficial spokesperson for fine cheese in the United States" -- his use of the 100 point scale here does a terrible disservice to the cause of fine cheese and to the readers of this book.

Buy the book, IGNORE THE SCORES.

This newest addition to Mccalman's offerings is by far the best and most comprehensive, timely reference to the cheeses of the world. It is the new "bible" as far as I'm concerned. He elaborates and builds upon his first book in a way that is illuminating and interesting, and , if even a bit constrained with his list of great cheeses , manages to present his picks in an assessible way. His chapter on wine parings is the best I've read. Truly this is a must have for anyone that has a passion for spoiled milk of the world.

Artisanal cheese is cheese that has been hand-crafted in small batches according to time-honored techniques, recipes, and traditions. Domestic production of quality artisanal cheeses is on the rise. With the recent opening of the Artisanal Cheese Center in New York, more folks have the opportunity to taste and buy local and European traditional farmstead cheeses - which is wonderful!!

Max McCalman and David Gibbons, who co-authored the widely acclaimed "The Cheese Plate," have just come out with the extraordinary "Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best." McCalman is renowned as one of the world's experts in artisanal cheeses. Cheese is his passion and he has dedicated himself to helping others understand and enjoy its unique pleasures. Mr. McCalman, America's first restaurant-based Maître Fromager, is also a Garde et Jure as designated by France's exclusive Guilde des Fromagers - credentials which basically mean the man knows a lot about cheese, and experts, gourmands, trust him to make choices for them! Over the past decade he established the critically acclaimed cheese program at New York City's Picholine Restaurant. I have dined there on more than one occasion and their lavish cheese cart is a wonder. When I saw this beautiful cheese encyclopedia last week, I bought a copy for myself, and one for a dear friend who I know will treasure it. This is an extremely useful guide which makes a wonderful addition to any cheese lover's library.

Approximately 200 of the world's best cheeses are included here, with information on buying, storing, tasting, and serving. Detailed notes are provided on producers, taste and appearance, stages of ripeness and seasonal availability. The main section profiles cheeses, listed and arranged alphabetically, and includes gorgeous photographs, detailed, evocative descriptions, wine parings and a numeric rating scale.

Max McCalman is also a Maître d' Hotel and Sommelier who has spent most of his career in the food and hospitality industries. He also serves as a consultant to the trade and is a lecturer and teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education, the Culinary Institute of America, New York University, the DeGustibus Chef's Tasting Series, and The New School. He has been featured on the Television Food Network, the CBS Evening News, the Cable News Network, and Martha Stewart Living Television.

Highly recommended! ENJOY!
JANA

This my second cheese book. My first one, "Cheese Primer" didn't list many of the cheeses our local gourmet store carries. This does, and then some. I don't always agree with his ratings, but the descriptions are accurate. Best read if you already know something about cheese and want to expand your horizons.

Cheese is not only my profession, it is my passion. I have a large collection of books about cheese. "Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best" is an excellent reference, and the perfect complement to McCalman's "The Cheese Plate." Although less comprehensive than the classic "Cheese Primer" by Steven Jenkins, I find McCalman's guide, with its luscious photos, truely a "connoisseur's guide" rather than an encyclopedia. Unfortunately, the majority of the world-class cheeses that McCalman so beautifully depicts and describes, are not widely available throughout the US. What a shame!

From Quebec's Chaput Vacherin Mont d'Or to Ireland's Ardrahan and Roomano of Holland to Switzerland's Sbrinz, Cheese - A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best by Max McCalman and David Gibbons is a sumptuous feast for mind and eye to 200 of the world's finest cheeses. Listen to what McCalman has to say about Epoisses - "the King of Cheeses" - "Take it out of the fridge, put it on a plate, wait for it to turn meltingly soft and alluring, then cut in and enjoy the beautiful essence of controlled milk spoilage." No wonder this book has become my guide when seeking out a new world of artisanal cheese to explore!

Several suggestions in a new edition -

(1)a description of the 100 point scale used in rating cheeses would be interesting and informative, and would be helpful in making the ratings appear less arbitrary and
(2)a reference list to other informative and authoritative books on cheese consulted by the authors in preparing the book or of potential interest to readers.

This book, written by one of America's foremost authorities on cheese, is remarkable. The material is well researched, the photographs are stunning, and the recommendations are top notch. Particularly important are the wine pairings, which are insightful and very useful. Like McCalman's "The Cheese Plate," this book looks as elegant as a coffee table book, however it contains a wealth of information valuable to any cheese enthusiast.

I have been searching for a cheese book that supplied detailed information. This book is the one! It has it all. Type of cheese, Provance, Producers, Prodution, Appearance, Similar Cheeses, Wine Pairnings and a little seasonal note. Not to mention great photographs.

My wife bought me this book for Christmas and I couldn't be happier. From the wonderful descriptions and histories to the expectations from each cheese, I am in 7th heaven. For anyone looking to expand their cheese knowledge, I highly recommend this book.