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The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses
Including more than 35 step-by-step recipes from the Black Sheep School of Cheesemaking
Most DIY cheesemaking books are hard to follow, complicated, and confusing, and call for the use of packaged freeze-dried cultures, chemical additives, and expensive cheesemaking equipment. For though bread baking has its sourdough, brewing its lambic ales, and pickling its wild fermentation, standard Western cheesemaking practice today is decidedly unnatural. In The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, David Asher practices and preaches a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of making cheese—one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science.
This book encourages home and small-scale commercial cheesemakers to take a different approach by showing them:
• How to source good milk, including raw milk;
• How to keep their own bacterial starter cultures and fungal ripening cultures;
• How make their own rennet—and how to make good cheese without it;
• How to avoid the use of plastic equipment and chemical additives; and
• How to use appropriate technologies.
Introductory chapters explore and explain the basic elements of cheese: milk, cultures, rennet, salt, tools, and the cheese cave. The fourteen chapters that follow each examine a particular class of cheese, from kefir and paneer to washed-rind and alpine styles, offering specific recipes and handling advice. The techniques presented are direct and thorough, fully illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams and triptych photos that show the transformation of cheeses in a comparative and dynamic fashion.
The Art of Natural Cheesemaking is the first cheesemaking book to take a political stance against Big Dairy and to criticize both standard industrial and artisanal cheesemaking practices. It promotes the use of ethical animal rennet and protests the use of laboratory-grown freeze-dried cultures. It also explores how GMO technology is creeping into our cheese and the steps we can take to stop it.
This book sounds a clarion call to cheesemakers to adopt more natural, sustainable practices. It may well change the way we look at cheese, and how we make it ourselves.
Most DIY cheesemaking books are hard to follow, complicated, and confusing, and call for the use of packaged freeze-dried cultures, chemical additives, and expensive cheesemaking equipment. For though bread baking has its sourdough, brewing its lambic ales, and pickling its wild fermentation, standard Western cheesemaking practice today is decidedly unnatural. In The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, David Asher practices and preaches a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of making cheese—one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science.
This book encourages home and small-scale commercial cheesemakers to take a different approach by showing them:
• How to source good milk, including raw milk;
• How to keep their own bacterial starter cultures and fungal ripening cultures;
• How make their own rennet—and how to make good cheese without it;
• How to avoid the use of plastic equipment and chemical additives; and
• How to use appropriate technologies.
Introductory chapters explore and explain the basic elements of cheese: milk, cultures, rennet, salt, tools, and the cheese cave. The fourteen chapters that follow each examine a particular class of cheese, from kefir and paneer to washed-rind and alpine styles, offering specific recipes and handling advice. The techniques presented are direct and thorough, fully illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams and triptych photos that show the transformation of cheeses in a comparative and dynamic fashion.
The Art of Natural Cheesemaking is the first cheesemaking book to take a political stance against Big Dairy and to criticize both standard industrial and artisanal cheesemaking practices. It promotes the use of ethical animal rennet and protests the use of laboratory-grown freeze-dried cultures. It also explores how GMO technology is creeping into our cheese and the steps we can take to stop it.
This book sounds a clarion call to cheesemakers to adopt more natural, sustainable practices. It may well change the way we look at cheese, and how we make it ourselves.
511 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2015
85 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 8, 2018
Nearly every second page has a picture of this hipster’s hairy arms plunging into the cheese vat.
January 8, 2018
I really like this book. I also found it excruciatingly frustrating. Raw milk is already inoculated with lactobacteria. All you need to do is create the right conditions for the cheese you want. Goats are the ultimate 'activist animal'. These messages and others like it are straight forward enough claims & thesis. They appeal to the layman's intuitive sences and indeed the experience of many a farmer, cheesemaker, homesteader. Its clear that the author has had repeatable success with his approach to cheesemaking & is passionate about wanting to share that knowledge. David Ashers work is an enjoyable read with a great layout and wonderful photography. What's not to love??
Well......a few things. Sadly, it seems the politics of identity infects everything in modern life. Asher needlessly draws division & sets about bridge burning from the get go. It does seem from the introduction that noone has it right other than Asher himself. This antagonism is exacerbated by another problem - lack of scientific citation & evidence. In fact, for a book with so many 'counter-cultural' claims, it has a surprisingly short list of scientific references. I found myself frustrated by the lack of numeric or other referencing. Something i wouldn't normally feel was necessary for a home cheesemaking book, only for the sheer number of scientific claims & political assertions based on these claims.
There are also numerous contradictions that are at odds with the conviction of the manefesto ie. 'Industrial milk is bad but you can right this wrong with kefir grains', 'plastic is bad but I use it because it works great' etc. Even if we be generous & allow these contradictions to be small evidences of diplomacy, it's a shame this diplomacy in Ashers own kitchen is not shared in his discussion of the industry as a whole. A missed opportunity to build out positive relationships with larger cheesemakers who no doubt have more political influence than Asher. Even small-scale cheesemakers & supply companies seem targeted as willing participants in the evil military industrial complex for their use of DVI cultures & GMO rennet.
The author himself admits having to 'unlearn' an industrial approach to cheese. Presumably, unlearning involved crossing a bridge. Would it have been such a difficult act of diplomacy to offer the same mindfulness, respect & patience afforded to oneself, to others still on the other side of that bridge? and even if they still chose to stay there? We don't hear much about the unlearning process, only to guess that the industrial cheesemaking path is so traumatic & void of insight it is best forgotten.
Despite what i see as a major disappointment, I'm still going to give this book a thumbs up. One thing i do respect is the authenticity & passion that comes over in the book. David Asher seems to write as he might speak. I feel i am in a private cheesemaking class & as long as im willing to switch off my science skeptic brain, i'm totally wanting to make cheese his way! He's got me there. I'm on that island in the rugged Pacific Coast of BC. An important work and a worthy addition to any turophiles collection. 3 out of 5 stars.
Well......a few things. Sadly, it seems the politics of identity infects everything in modern life. Asher needlessly draws division & sets about bridge burning from the get go. It does seem from the introduction that noone has it right other than Asher himself. This antagonism is exacerbated by another problem - lack of scientific citation & evidence. In fact, for a book with so many 'counter-cultural' claims, it has a surprisingly short list of scientific references. I found myself frustrated by the lack of numeric or other referencing. Something i wouldn't normally feel was necessary for a home cheesemaking book, only for the sheer number of scientific claims & political assertions based on these claims.
There are also numerous contradictions that are at odds with the conviction of the manefesto ie. 'Industrial milk is bad but you can right this wrong with kefir grains', 'plastic is bad but I use it because it works great' etc. Even if we be generous & allow these contradictions to be small evidences of diplomacy, it's a shame this diplomacy in Ashers own kitchen is not shared in his discussion of the industry as a whole. A missed opportunity to build out positive relationships with larger cheesemakers who no doubt have more political influence than Asher. Even small-scale cheesemakers & supply companies seem targeted as willing participants in the evil military industrial complex for their use of DVI cultures & GMO rennet.
The author himself admits having to 'unlearn' an industrial approach to cheese. Presumably, unlearning involved crossing a bridge. Would it have been such a difficult act of diplomacy to offer the same mindfulness, respect & patience afforded to oneself, to others still on the other side of that bridge? and even if they still chose to stay there? We don't hear much about the unlearning process, only to guess that the industrial cheesemaking path is so traumatic & void of insight it is best forgotten.
Despite what i see as a major disappointment, I'm still going to give this book a thumbs up. One thing i do respect is the authenticity & passion that comes over in the book. David Asher seems to write as he might speak. I feel i am in a private cheesemaking class & as long as im willing to switch off my science skeptic brain, i'm totally wanting to make cheese his way! He's got me there. I'm on that island in the rugged Pacific Coast of BC. An important work and a worthy addition to any turophiles collection. 3 out of 5 stars.
September 13, 2017
Great book, and when I get my hands on some raw milk (I NEED GOATS) I will definitely be revisiting it. I get the impression everything will make more sense once I'm actually DOING IT.
May 5, 2024
I have never in my life been so enamored with cheese. This is the real deal. None of that chemical garbage that we still somehow get away with calling cheese. This book is the best book I've read in years, just for the amazing cheese it allows me to make. I will buy this man's next book, when it comes out later this year, just so I can make even more cheese. Highly recommended to anyone who can get their hands on the raw milk necessary to make real cheese.
February 2, 2016
This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in making their own cheese, including rennets and cultures. Mr. Asher will teach you how to produce clean, healthy cheeses and other cultured dairy products. If you're looking to stay away from commercial cheese making products, he will show you how to make cheese using self-sustaining methods. This is THE cheese making book I've been waiting for and it answered so many of my questions.
The only complaint I have of this book is the pictures of his robustly hairy arms being thrust into lovely, white cheese vats. Ugh. Otherwise, it's my favorite book on this topic!
I was sent a review copy of this book from the publisher which in no way influenced my review. These are the actual thoughts that I thunk.
The only complaint I have of this book is the pictures of his robustly hairy arms being thrust into lovely, white cheese vats. Ugh. Otherwise, it's my favorite book on this topic!
I was sent a review copy of this book from the publisher which in no way influenced my review. These are the actual thoughts that I thunk.
May 24, 2024
A wonderful book with very practical tips for low tech cheesemaking. A good companion and contrast to other cheesemaking books.
There is a "manifesto" element to the book, but my personal feelings about it didn't interfere with my enjoyment.
There is a "manifesto" element to the book, but my personal feelings about it didn't interfere with my enjoyment.
November 5, 2020
Es un libro de recetas, así que no lo leí de cabo a rabo, pero volveré, vaya si volveré xD
No le doy más estrellas por esa superioridad moral de gremlin antiprogreso de "la leche UHT es veneno, la cruda es la única que vale, además para hacer cuajo lo tenéis que sacar del cuarto estómago de un ternero sin destetar amamantado por su madre y descuartizado en casa".
Está muy bien hecho, instrucciones fáciles de seguir y explicaciones claras.
No le doy más estrellas por esa superioridad moral de gremlin antiprogreso de "la leche UHT es veneno, la cruda es la única que vale, además para hacer cuajo lo tenéis que sacar del cuarto estómago de un ternero sin destetar amamantado por su madre y descuartizado en casa".
Está muy bien hecho, instrucciones fáciles de seguir y explicaciones claras.
August 22, 2017
David Asher book is the most delightful and intelligent book ever written about making cheeses. It is not only well designed, beautifully illustrated, smartly planned, and complete, it is exceedingly nice towards the reader and truly interesting to read. Even if one is not interested at all about cheesemaking, David is able to entice you with the history of some of the most delicious things ever invented by humans.
One little but kind detail: David actually answers his email, and it doesn't take for ever. He responded my inquiry way beyond my expectations.
Thank you so much Dave. You have done a superb job.
Omar Vesga, MD.
Professor of Medicine
University of Antioquia
Medellin, Colombia.
One little but kind detail: David actually answers his email, and it doesn't take for ever. He responded my inquiry way beyond my expectations.
Thank you so much Dave. You have done a superb job.
Omar Vesga, MD.
Professor of Medicine
University of Antioquia
Medellin, Colombia.
May 13, 2017
Exactly the book I was looking for, explaining how to naturally make cheese in a traditional way that would have been used before the invention of stainless steel and freeze dried cultures. I really appreciated his discussion of the ways in which raw milk is actually more robust when it comes to fighting off unwanted microbial influences, since those environmental niches are already filled by the beneficial bacteria in the milk. Even better, he suggests that adding kefir to pasteurized milk (which is much easier for me to obtain) will restore some of those beneficial bacteria. I've ordered some kefir grains and can't wait to try making some cheese without using any dried cultures.
May 25, 2020
I read a few books about cheesemaking, and this one actually helped me to start making cheese!
Its naural and traditional approach means you don't need expensive equipments or cultures to start.
Everything is well explained, with good amout of details.
P.S.: Check out his videos on his website too! He made them during COVID-19 pandemic.
Its naural and traditional approach means you don't need expensive equipments or cultures to start.
Everything is well explained, with good amout of details.
P.S.: Check out his videos on his website too! He made them during COVID-19 pandemic.
July 4, 2020
So good. Asher's instructions are clear and to the point and his philosophy is so refreshing: milk is so darn full of so much natural goodness that the home dairy need neither feel intimidated to create a plethora of delicious cheeses nor acquire the seemingly formidable array of commercial equipment and cultures so many cheese manuals prescribe. I love this book.
August 30, 2017
I am so excited by this book. It has changed the way I view supermarkets and the quality of food I consume. I have made the yogurt recipe and it has been the best yogurt I have ever tasted. Next I will make cheese.
January 3, 2020
I really like the way this author approaches cheesemaking and have been working through the recipes he included. Love that he does away with dvi and other starters so I mainly need to use fresh raw milk and the homemade kefir we've had going for more than 15 years.
January 19, 2016
As soon as I get a dairy animal, I'm getting this book to go with it. How to preserve vels to become rennet, how to make cheese without buying cultures. This is what I want in cheese!
December 23, 2016
Wow. Just wow. What a brilliant, needed book. A valuable read even if you aren't interested in making cheese yourself. And he uses kefir for his starter! So grateful and delighted I found this book.
December 2, 2021
I always wondered how people made cheese prior to plastics, stainless steel, electricity, cultures by mail, running water, refrigeration and soap. Maybe the cheese will taste good too!
October 31, 2024
David does a great job at making raw milk cheese making seem super accessible to those with raw milk. No freeze dried cultures required.
January 25, 2021
Loved this. It can stand alone as a good read even without the intention of making cheese. I originally read this a couple of years ago and had my library buy it. When we moved states I found myself wanting to read it again and try a few more recipes so I interlibrary loaned it. When I finally had to give that copy back I found that I still wanted it around so I decided it was worth purchasing as a reference (this says a lot, because I am rarely willing to pay for information anymore). His instructions have been wonderful and the direct acification cheeses I have done from this book have worked great. The keifer cultured ones are wanting a little, but I have no doubt they work for him. I assume I just haven't quite worked out all the techniques in my few attempts. My keifer grains also may not be quite be as active as they should be with more regimented care. Great read though and one I will continue to experiment from.
July 3, 2020
Cheese book and political manifesto.
The way things are produced and consumed has important social, cultural and political consequences. Asher's counterculture position is clear, he uses all aspects of the cheese making process to emphasize it.
"The art of natural cheese making" questions some important aspects of the industrial food system: Our obssesion to sanitize everything, our irational war against every kind of microorganism, our reductional aproach to natural processes, that ended up with the extreme poverty of human intestinal fauna, our need to homogenize everything from milk to cheese forms, passing through nature and sex. Asher claims diversity, biodivesity of bacteria, diversity of cheese molds and cultures.
Is a recipe book and a political aproach to food production and consumption.
The way things are produced and consumed has important social, cultural and political consequences. Asher's counterculture position is clear, he uses all aspects of the cheese making process to emphasize it.
"The art of natural cheese making" questions some important aspects of the industrial food system: Our obssesion to sanitize everything, our irational war against every kind of microorganism, our reductional aproach to natural processes, that ended up with the extreme poverty of human intestinal fauna, our need to homogenize everything from milk to cheese forms, passing through nature and sex. Asher claims diversity, biodivesity of bacteria, diversity of cheese molds and cultures.
Is a recipe book and a political aproach to food production and consumption.
November 14, 2022
I have to update this, because one can't keep a book open, but really... This is a book that you don't really stop reading, because you want to experiment with milk, kefir, yoghurt and cheese.
I had also read a couple of other books about cheesemaking, and they were just recipes: do it this way and you will get cheese. Asher's book gives much more explanations about the how of cheeses: what are the mechanisms that create cheese. However, it is not so technical that it becomes boring. He's a good writer, and that also makes this book nice to read.
I even think that this is a good book for people who love cheese, and don't necessarily want to make cheese themselves.
I had also read a couple of other books about cheesemaking, and they were just recipes: do it this way and you will get cheese. Asher's book gives much more explanations about the how of cheeses: what are the mechanisms that create cheese. However, it is not so technical that it becomes boring. He's a good writer, and that also makes this book nice to read.
I even think that this is a good book for people who love cheese, and don't necessarily want to make cheese themselves.
September 5, 2015
I love the concept of this book. The concept of using mesophilic kefir and yogurt cultures to make cheese is awesome.
However, I have little ability to put the recipes into action. The recipes call for raw milk, something that is not widely available in my area.
This book would be perfect for those of you who own dairy animals!
The book is thorough, well written and the photos are beautiful.
However, I have little ability to put the recipes into action. The recipes call for raw milk, something that is not widely available in my area.
This book would be perfect for those of you who own dairy animals!
The book is thorough, well written and the photos are beautiful.
January 20, 2016
I was really happy to stumble onto this book on the "New Non-Fiction" of our library because he gives really clear simple instructions for how to make all kinds of cheese, many of them just using kefir as the base. Of course, since I read it, I let our kefir grains die but I really do want to start making some of the soft cheese. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to make cheddar!
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January 27, 2016I thoroughly enjoyed reading this but still haven't gotten around to making any cheeses, so I'm not really qualified to rate it.
February 6, 2016
Good instructions for quality cheese making.
Unfortunately, most of us don't have access to the required ingredient - whole, unpasteurized, un-homogenized milk.
Unfortunately, most of us don't have access to the required ingredient - whole, unpasteurized, un-homogenized milk.
August 22, 2017
Please do yourself a favor and read this book if you make kefir.
October 10, 2017
easy to follow instructions - a great reference
goes through many different types of cheese
goes through many different types of cheese
October 4, 2018
Great!
Fantastic approach to cheese making. Dispenses with the need for expensive man made bacterial cultures. Great cheese and lots of fun.
Fantastic approach to cheese making. Dispenses with the need for expensive man made bacterial cultures. Great cheese and lots of fun.
January 18, 2021
Intriguing, an intro to all sorts of new ideas which I can't wait to try. The reason I've scored it down is that the the science throughout the book is rarely backed up with evidence.
March 20, 2019
Very informative with easy-to-follow instructions.
October 8, 2025
Super serious cheesemaking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews