Customer Reviews

And That's How You Make Cheese!

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I learned to make cheese with this book, so it couldn't be all bad, but I found myself going to the internet to check out proportions that looked wrong, going to another recipe in the book when the one I was using said, "Add salt," but there had been no salt in the ingredients list (I assumed that I could use the amount listed in another 2-gallon recipe), and making Muenster with no starter culture since it was not listed in the ingredients or referred to in the process description. I got cheese, but it sure wasn't like any other Meunster I ever ate. Wasn't too good, and an experienced cheese maker told me you have to use a starter culture in Meunster.

The book gave equivalents in some recipes (rennet tablets vs. liquid rennet / powdered starter cultures vs. fresh cultures), in others it gave only one and in some it didn't tell you which it was listing. If anyone made the Colby first and put in three ounces of powdered starter culture, you would have an expensive cheese to say the least. Also, I checked with my supplier and found out the 1/2 tsp. mesophilic starter culture the author lists in two-gallon recipes was twice what is necessary, which cranks up the cost a good bit. But now I know and I'm buying only half as much starter culture.

I am puzzled when I read these good reviews. Did they just do a batch of chevre or cottage cheese and call it quits? If you follow these recipes exactly, you will have many failures.

The recipes in this book seemed longer than my other cheese book. Actually, they are not longer, they are just explained in regular English. With this book, your first cheese can be Swiss, Cheddar or Pepper Jack; no practice needed! This author did not take shortcuts and explains each recipe step-by-step. All of the popular cheeses are listed as well as a few you've probably never tried.

I bought this book from another site (wasn't listed here yet, I guess) a little while ago and have to write a review here too. This is a wonderful book for both the novice and experienced cheese maker. I have made several of the simpler cheeses and all have turned out great so far. I have a Gouda aging right now too, and will let you know how that recipe turns out. Great histories, tips and the recipes are very easy to follow. One of the other cheese making books available has recipes that are tricky to follow if you are a novice, sometimes outright confusing. The recipes in this book are easy to follow and are explained at every step. My book shipped in just a few days.

Loved the history of cheese story & had great success with all recipes we've tried so far. The Feta and Swiss were wonderful. We are aging a Cheddar right now and can't wait to see how that turns out. The Caraway Swiss was a hit!

I cannot say enough about this book. It is printed in clear, easy-to-understand language. I had already purchased "Cheesemaking Made Easy" and it certainly wasn't that! This book was helpful, easy to follow, and helped me make great cheeses on my first try. I had one question about a recipe and the author emailed me back an answer that day! He really seems to care about the subject and his readers. A definate "Thumbs-Up!"

I bought this book and Ricki Carroll's "Home Cheese Making" at the same time. Do yourself a favor and skip this book. Buy Ricki Carroll's instead. The difference in price is $5, but the difference in accuracy and professionalism of the two books are lightyears apart.

Not only are there typos in this book, but true mistakes that will doom your cheesemaking efforts. A couple of examples: using 3 oz of starter in the Colby recipe; adjusting the acidity of the mozzarella to 8.6pH. What other gotchas are in this book for the unsuspecting cheesemaker?

Skip it.

This is a nice little book in some ways, but most of the recipes are virtually identical to those in Barbara Ciletti's "Making Great Cheese at Home" (1999), without the gloss and pictures. This book's publish date is 2001. There is no attribution given. This seems unfair to Ciletti. The book is also full of typos. Some of them are important, such as pH values. I don't think the milk should be at pH 8.6 for mozzarella. Ciletti's version says 6.8, a more believable number. Speaking of mozzarella, I've made the 30-minute version from Ricki Carroll and found it works great, but maybe I'll give the more complicated Ciletti/Sokol version a try.

I am not sure what the reviewer below is talking about. I have both this and Carroll's book and this one is most definately the better one for beginners. It is clearly laid out, in a logical order and has 30 different recipes plus some special ones such as Caraway Swiss, which is divine! I found Carroll's book to be good, but confusing when I first started as the book seems to be more for folks who already have done this before.

This little book was a great way to start a new hobby of aging cheeses. While searching for books on cheese, I came across this an thought I'd try to make my own.

It was fun, interesting and everything has come out great. I cannot believe that with just regular kitchen items, I was able to make a Gouda and age a real BLUE cheese. It's not as hard as you'd think and the results are amazing.

Give it a try and you'll be making all sorts of cheeses and variations. The book was clear, concise and explained everything well enought for the complete beginner. Just follow the instructions and you'll make a wonderful cheese for just a little more than the cost of plain milk from the store. Recommended!

Had a great time making cheese with the family. We made several and all came out great. Much better than store bought cheese, for sure. Highly recommended.