French Cheese (Eyewitness Companions) [Paperback]

DK Publishing (Author), Joel Robuchon (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Eyewitness Companions | Publication Date: December 19, 2005

Cataloguing the wide varieties of cheeses found in France, this highly informative reference provides essential information on each type of cheese, as well as advice as what wince to drink as accompaniment and the history of each flavor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756614023
• ISBN-13: 978-0756614027
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Cooking

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AVOID THIS BOOK!, January 9, 2007

By 

Walter Hampton "Ceratto's Grotto" (NW Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: French Cheese (Eyewitness Companions) (Paperback)

I suggest that if you live in the typical USA city or town you do not read 'French Cheese'. It will turn you into a cheese snob and ruin any appreciation you currently have for cheese sold in most USA environments. Since reading this very informational 'French Cheese' book, I have yet to find a good 'live' cheese within an one hour drive plus an hour ferry ride of my home. This commute has driven my cheese costs through the roof. My wine costs are now at new heights too, as the suggestions for compatible wines are so interesting. Now my typical day is to get up very early, catch the morning bus (or drive) to the ferry terminal; take the ferry to the city; then walk a distance to a farmer's market area where I can find cheese and wine within a respectable distance from each other. I find a cheese that is still 'alive', look it up in the book, see what wine the 'French Cheese' book recommends, then go to one of the wine shops in the area and try to find that wine. If I cannot find the wine, back to the cheese shop to see what else they have that matches up with one of the cheese / wine recommendations in the 'French Cheese' book. By the time I get all this done it is time for lunch. I go to the one of the local bakeries nearby and get some 'appropriate bread' to go with some of the cheese and wine I purchased, sit down somewhere and have lunch. Then it is time to head for home. It will take me another couple of hours to get home, so it is just in time to start a dinner of some kind, (which is usually based upon one of 'French Cheese' book's cooking with cheese recommendations). I am also afraid that my travel expenses to Europe (France in particular) are going to increase dramatically since most of the cheeses in the 'French Cheese' book are not exported, (and there are so many cheeses to try). I would write more, but I am running late for the ferry. I wish I had never read this damn book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice introduction to the world of French cheese, March 28, 2008

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: French Cheese (Eyewitness Companions) (Paperback)

For those who enjoy cheese from time to time, this is an enjoyable little volume. Its focus is on French cheese (I just read and reviewed a book on olive oil, and this is a similar type of work).

The book begins with some introductory elements. Among these: the interrelationship among cheese, bread and wine; nutritional value of cheese; French cheese today; the labeling of cheese (a fascinating subject as related here, by the way!); buying, storing, and tasting cheese (one useful hint: let cheese warm up about 1/2 hour before eating, to bring out fuller flavor).

But the real heart of this book is the coverage of cheeses. There are over 200 pages of this, so I'll provide a few examples to give a sense of what is covered.

Brie: One of my favorite French cheeses (I used to think that it had an odd odor and taste, but with maturity, I have changed my mind!). The region where it is made is just east of Paris. Different kinds of brie are described. The discussion provides the rules that allow one to label the cheese as meeting key standards.

Camembert: Another of my favorites. This discussion includes the 32 steps from milking cows to eating a slice of this cheese! Fascinating reading. Again, as with brie, there are many categories of camembert, and it is intriguing to read about the variations.

Emmental: Another French cheese that I enjoy immensely. The discussion describes how one type of this cheese (Emmental grand cru) is made.

Roquefort: Not a cheese that I eat much. But it is one that is well known. A variety of aspects of this cheese is covered, such as appearance and flavor, legal protection, production, the cheese's "home," the blue mold so characteristic of this cheese, and so on.

In short, this is a lot of fun! It gives the reader a good sense of the different French cheeses and provides greater context for the next time one sits down to eat some good French cheese!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did I live without this book?, January 4, 2008

By 

Robert Michael Smith (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: French Cheese (Eyewitness Companions) (Paperback)

DK Publishing does it again! Most Americans can probably only name 4 or 5 types of cheese but here is a book with hundreds of fascinating cheeses. I wouldn't say that all the cheese looks appetizing but the shear variety will keep you reading. Now, when I go to cheese section of a well stocked grocery store I get excited when I see a cheese I read about in the book.