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

by Max McCalman, David Gibbons (Photographer)

Filled with indispensable information from America’s foremost authority, Max McCalman, A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best is your road map to exploring the world of fine cheese. As the maître fromager at New York’s acclaimed Picholine restaurant (the first in the country to offer a serious cheese program) and author of the widely acclaimed The Cheese Plate , McCalman has selected, tasted, and studied hundreds of cheeses, serving them to thousands of cheese lovers. And now he has created the definitive reference on the subject. Cheese profiles about 200 of the world’s best cheeses—and only the best—complete with all the practical information you could need and all the fascinating details you could want.

An incredible variety of real cheeses from around the world—including right here in the United States—are becoming more widely available. From distinguished Cabrales to oozing Reblochon and buttery Fontina d’Aosta, real cheese can rival the most spectacular creations of chefs, and all you have to do is buy the good stuff and serve it properly. Cheese is the ultimate guide to doing just that. Profiles of the cheeses include not only McCalman’s evocative descriptions but fascinating information on how each cheese is made, who the best producers are, similar cheeses to seek out, and even tips on what time of year the cheese is at its peak, how to store it, and how to serve it for maximum enjoyment.

Of course, wine is cheese’s favorite companion, so McCalman taste-tested thousands of wine and cheese combinations to offer unprecedented guidance on exactly which wines are most compatible with each and every cheese.

From the A of Aarauer Bierdeckel to the Z of Zamorano, Cheese is an illuminating, seductive guide to the very best that the world’s cheesemakers have to offer.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Foodie

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2005

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cheese, but this book really highlights for me how little of I've tasted. I think I'd heard of maybe 10% of what's in this book and tasted even less of that. I've probably never tasted any of these cheeses in their pure/perfect form (except for like the Humboldt Fog) and only had them in the mass-produced, pasteurized versions that Mccalman so laments.

I wonder if I'd even like half the cheeses in this book; so many of the descriptions are barnyardy, obstreperous, stinky, pungent, etc. I'm willing to give anything a try, but IDK. LOL

I highly doubt I will be successful, but I'm going to take this book to the cheese counter at Kroger and see if I can find any of them. I might be able to find some of the American produced ones; I know they've had Humboldt Fog before, for example.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

every picture in the book lets me know exactly what the texture of each cheese is, and makes me want to spend money. i don't, however, understand the "strength" ratings in the book, as out of pie chart, a 6 is the highest marking, though only two thirds of the pie is shaded. strange. good wine pairings though.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book is like a brief summary of the authors' previous book, The Cheese Plate. The bulk of this book is devoted to describing the individual cheeses that make the authors' "best" list (one per page). Great info and photos (yes, I agree with the previous comment...it's total cheese porn). A nice supplement to their previous work.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome pics.

[Jen Dent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the cheeses in this book are very seasonal or hard to find. Which makes the total cheese porn in this book somewhat maddening.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go to the store, buy this book and give it to your snooty mother-in-law for Festivis. She'll completely forget your bangin' her daughter.

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful wonderful book. Total cheese porn. I especially loved the pictures and the wine pairings.

[Ayne Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A turophile's delight.

[Anthony]

More Cheese! o.O