be as cheesy as you want

Morgan McGlynn has been a fan of cheese her whole life. In fact, she loves it so much she bought a cheese shop when she was only 21. Working at the store, tasting cheeses, traveling to cheesemakers to stock her shop, she has learned a lot about cheese. She has even started making her own. And now she is sharing all her best cheese secrets with us all in The Modern Cheesemaker.

Written with novices in mind, McGlynn takes readers step by step through the process of making cheese, from simple cheese that can be made with ingredients you can probably find in your kitchen to more complicated recipes that take specialty ingredients and can age for months. She includes tips on cheese making equipment (you don’t need much to get started) and ideas on knives and slicers to use to create the ultimate cheese board.

In other words, you can put as little or as much effort in as you want, invest a lot or not so much, the options are as numerous as the types of cheeses available.

After a quick introduction to the history, basic process, and equipment of cheesemaking, McGlynn gets to the important part—the recipes. First she starts with simple fresh cheeses, like mozzarella, ricotta, burrata, and mascarpone. And along with the recipes to create these cheeses, she includes recipes you can use these cheese for, like Lemon and Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake, Curd Cheese Dip, and Burrata and Lemon Penne.

After the fresh cheeses, she takes us on a tour of cream and soft cheeses, so you can make your own cottage cheese, cream cheese, and Brie. Then it’s on to goat’s cheese, with ideas for creamy and crumbly ones, and recipes like a Courgette (Zucchini) and Goat’s Cheese Tart or Goat’s Cheese and Spinach Filo Swirls.

Then things get harder, as both the recipes and the cheese get harder, going through an aging process. You can choose semi-hard cheeses like Paneer, Swiss Cheese, Halloumi, and Feta; or you can go for the hard cheeses, and try your hand at Cheddar, Gouda, or Red Leicester. And then you can go to use those to make Very Naughty Mac and Cheese, a Classic Croque Monsieur, or a Tortellini Bake.

And let’s not forget the Blue Cheese.

Throughout all these recipes for cheeses and for tasty dishes made with cheeses are vignettes of cheesemakers from around the world and lots of beutiful photographs. Add in some expert advice about serving cheese, wine pairings for different cheeses, and how to create an exquisite cheese board for any season, The Modern Cheesemaker is a beautiful reference for cheese lovers of all kinds.

Galleys for The Modern Cheesemaker were provided by White Lion Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.