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Edible
Cheese: A Global History
Take a slice of bread. It’s perfectly okay in and of itself. Maybe it has a nice, crisp crust or the scent of sourdough. But really, it’s kind of boring. Now melt some cheese on it—a sharp Vermont cheddar or a flavorful Swiss Gruyere. Mmm, delicious. Cheese—it’s the staple food, the accessory that makes everything better, from the hamburger to the ordinary sandwich to a bowl of macaroni. Despite its many uses and variations, there has never before been a global history of cheese, but here at last is a succinct, authoritative account, revealing how cheese was invented and where, when, and even why. In bite-sized chapters well-known food historian Andrew Dalby tells the true and savory story of cheese, from its prehistoric invention to the moment of its modern rebirth. Here you will find the most ancient cheese appellations, the first written description of the cheese-making process, a list of the luxury cheeses of classical Rome, the medieval rule-of-thumb for identifying good cheese, and even the story of how loyal cheese lover Samuel Pepys saved his parmesan from the great Fire of London. Dalby reveals that cheese is one of the most ancient of civilized foods, and he suggests that our passion for cheese may even lay behind the early establishment of global trade. Packed with entertaining cheese facts, anecdotes, and images, Cheese also features a selection of historic recipes. For those who crave a pungent stilton, a creamy brie, or a salty pecorino, Cheese is the perfect snack of a book.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
10 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Dalby
46 books20 followersAndrew Dalby (born Liverpool, 1947) is an English linguist, translator and historian who most often writes about food history.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 21, 2013
Although I stick mostly to a strict, vegetarian diet (with an emphasis on fat-free, low carb, and low sugar foods); I do have a major weakness: cheese. The smells, colors, shapes, flavors… I love it all! I am a fan of Reaktion Books’ ‘The Edible Series’ and was therefore naturally drawn to Andrew Dalby’s installment, “Cheese: A Global History”.
Although “Cheese” is divided into four major sections (introduction, history, production, and consumption); Dalby’s work is far from straight-forward. The introduction is anything but clear preface. Dalby dives right into research foregoing any easement into the topic resulting in confusion and the reader feeling overwhelmed. This continues with Dalby’s tone which is overly scholarly, dry, and focuses too much on food science and hard history. ‘The Edible Series’ is usually “fun”, but “Cheese” is not for the novice reader.
In addition to being too scientific-sounding, “Cheese” is also choppy with repetition and has an unclear pattern and thesis. As mentioned, I love cheese but felt lost and bluntly: uninterested in the text. I also appreciate scholarly work (in fact, I prefer it) but Dalby’s narrative is simply not readable or smooth. It seems Dalby did not know the audience and wrote more for his peers (food experts).
Despite these flaws, “Cheese” presents some attention-grabbing facts. The question is whether the reader will remember these amongst the (too much) wealth of cheese knowledge. This brings another issue to the table: Dalby tries to fit too much information into a small space. One wants to tell him to slow down or cut back. Whether this is purely his writing style or due to a lack of editing I cannot attest; but either way, it is frustrating.
The final section, “Consumption”, is the strongest covering numerous topics from when cheese should be eaten, paired with what, and other cultural aspects. However, even this seemingly exciting portion of “Cheese” is still dry and too academic. This bleeds into the conclusion which is choppy and doesn’t resonate with the reader.
Like the other ‘Edible Series’ books, “Cheese” includes several glossy photos, illustrations, and woodcuts, sources/notes, websites to view on the topic, and recipes. Although the “recipes” (I use this term lightly), are basically historical quotes mentioning cheese in dishes. These are the positive characteristics of the book, however.
Overall, “Cheese” is quite a disappointment even for a cheese lover. It is unclear, overwhelming (even for a short book), and without a smooth pace or tone. There are hundreds of better introductory or academic (but more readable) books available on cheese. Dalby’s “Cheese” can be skipped.
Although “Cheese” is divided into four major sections (introduction, history, production, and consumption); Dalby’s work is far from straight-forward. The introduction is anything but clear preface. Dalby dives right into research foregoing any easement into the topic resulting in confusion and the reader feeling overwhelmed. This continues with Dalby’s tone which is overly scholarly, dry, and focuses too much on food science and hard history. ‘The Edible Series’ is usually “fun”, but “Cheese” is not for the novice reader.
In addition to being too scientific-sounding, “Cheese” is also choppy with repetition and has an unclear pattern and thesis. As mentioned, I love cheese but felt lost and bluntly: uninterested in the text. I also appreciate scholarly work (in fact, I prefer it) but Dalby’s narrative is simply not readable or smooth. It seems Dalby did not know the audience and wrote more for his peers (food experts).
Despite these flaws, “Cheese” presents some attention-grabbing facts. The question is whether the reader will remember these amongst the (too much) wealth of cheese knowledge. This brings another issue to the table: Dalby tries to fit too much information into a small space. One wants to tell him to slow down or cut back. Whether this is purely his writing style or due to a lack of editing I cannot attest; but either way, it is frustrating.
The final section, “Consumption”, is the strongest covering numerous topics from when cheese should be eaten, paired with what, and other cultural aspects. However, even this seemingly exciting portion of “Cheese” is still dry and too academic. This bleeds into the conclusion which is choppy and doesn’t resonate with the reader.
Like the other ‘Edible Series’ books, “Cheese” includes several glossy photos, illustrations, and woodcuts, sources/notes, websites to view on the topic, and recipes. Although the “recipes” (I use this term lightly), are basically historical quotes mentioning cheese in dishes. These are the positive characteristics of the book, however.
Overall, “Cheese” is quite a disappointment even for a cheese lover. It is unclear, overwhelming (even for a short book), and without a smooth pace or tone. There are hundreds of better introductory or academic (but more readable) books available on cheese. Dalby’s “Cheese” can be skipped.
March 12, 2022
Tries to cover an awful lot of ground in an awfully short book, and it mostly does a decent job. More Eurocentric than I would have liked, though.
April 11, 2019
Pleasantly surprised to find that Diderot, Defoe and Homer rank highly as sources for the keen cheese historian. Enjoyable read, and certainly international; but definitely not global. Although Dalby laments the limited pages for sufficiently broad and deep study of cheese in this text, I feel the space could have been used more wisely.
March 12, 2012
You know what this book needed more than anything else? A very very skilled editor. There was a lot of very interesting information in the book, but it wasn't organized in a way that made it easy to follow. I kept finding myself reading a paragraph and thinking "wait, wouldn't this have fit better in the last chapter?"
December 31, 2021
Daley’s short primer on cheese is an entertaining and informative read that brings together history, gastronomy, culture and economic geography. In no way a comprehensive study, this book serves as an entree to its subject, offering the reader a starting point for more investigation into cheese culture. So it will definitely appeal to whoever enjoys a creamy Brie, a sharp Cheddar or a ripe Stilton.
The structure of ‘Cheese: a Global History” is one positive element of the book. Starting with a look at the individual histories of well known cheeses positioned on a hypothetical cheese board, Dalby continues his narrative through an examination of the food’s (mostly European) history, the production processes and types of cheese, the development of cheese as a trading commodity, cheese as a cultural phenomenon, then finally some historical recipes. There are copious illustrations, mostly if a historical nature, to help flesh out Darby’s text. The author, editor and publisher are to be commended for their work in the book’s formatting.
There is a significant amount of erudition in this book’s text. As substantiated by the broad bibliography and supporting notes provided at the end of the book there are plenty of quotes and references from significant texts and authors of both the classical and mediaeval eras Babylonian and Akkadian texts, Homer’s epics, Aristotle, Plato, Martial, Apicius and Suetonius are among the ancient authors whose references to cheese are included in Dalby’s book. The Italian cook Bartolemo Scappi, William Shakespeare, the 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys, and Emile Zola are just a few of the more modern sources for ‘cheese lore’ that Dalby includes in his book.
However there are some issues that must be mentioned regarding this book that had a negative impact on its reception. First off the focus on mostly European cheese history and culture, whilst understandable, is disappointing. References to the so-called new world countries such as the United States, Mexico and Australia are made, however almost nothing is said about how cheese production and types has flourished in these places nor about their importance in the global cheese market. Another deficit of this book is that because cheese is seen as a somewhat fashionable and high end commercial product when one focuses on the differing regional varieties and types, mass market ‘industrial’ cheeses are left out of Dalby’s narrative. It is well and good to talk about French provincial cheeses however most cheese that is consumed today is made by large corporations who produce products that are more influential than they are praised. Processed Cheese, cheese whip, spray cheese etc may be distasteful to those who enjoy an English Cheshire, but for a sizeable portion of modern society these are the more frequently consumed forms of cheese that are encountered.
At the end of the day this book is a highly capable introduction to it subject. ‘Cheese: a Global History’ will whet the appetite of anyone who reads Dalby’s text, and it will serve as a jumping off point for both more hands on engagement with cheese, as well as more detailed and expansive histories.
The structure of ‘Cheese: a Global History” is one positive element of the book. Starting with a look at the individual histories of well known cheeses positioned on a hypothetical cheese board, Dalby continues his narrative through an examination of the food’s (mostly European) history, the production processes and types of cheese, the development of cheese as a trading commodity, cheese as a cultural phenomenon, then finally some historical recipes. There are copious illustrations, mostly if a historical nature, to help flesh out Darby’s text. The author, editor and publisher are to be commended for their work in the book’s formatting.
There is a significant amount of erudition in this book’s text. As substantiated by the broad bibliography and supporting notes provided at the end of the book there are plenty of quotes and references from significant texts and authors of both the classical and mediaeval eras Babylonian and Akkadian texts, Homer’s epics, Aristotle, Plato, Martial, Apicius and Suetonius are among the ancient authors whose references to cheese are included in Dalby’s book. The Italian cook Bartolemo Scappi, William Shakespeare, the 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys, and Emile Zola are just a few of the more modern sources for ‘cheese lore’ that Dalby includes in his book.
However there are some issues that must be mentioned regarding this book that had a negative impact on its reception. First off the focus on mostly European cheese history and culture, whilst understandable, is disappointing. References to the so-called new world countries such as the United States, Mexico and Australia are made, however almost nothing is said about how cheese production and types has flourished in these places nor about their importance in the global cheese market. Another deficit of this book is that because cheese is seen as a somewhat fashionable and high end commercial product when one focuses on the differing regional varieties and types, mass market ‘industrial’ cheeses are left out of Dalby’s narrative. It is well and good to talk about French provincial cheeses however most cheese that is consumed today is made by large corporations who produce products that are more influential than they are praised. Processed Cheese, cheese whip, spray cheese etc may be distasteful to those who enjoy an English Cheshire, but for a sizeable portion of modern society these are the more frequently consumed forms of cheese that are encountered.
At the end of the day this book is a highly capable introduction to it subject. ‘Cheese: a Global History’ will whet the appetite of anyone who reads Dalby’s text, and it will serve as a jumping off point for both more hands on engagement with cheese, as well as more detailed and expansive histories.
October 5, 2025
I never thought I’d find myself fascinated by the story of cheese, but this book completely surprised me. It’s not just about how cheese is made, it’s about how something so ordinary connects people across centuries and cultures. From ancient shepherds to fancy modern cheese boards, the book makes you realise cheese has been quietly shaping human history.
The author keeps things short and interesting, and even though some parts feel a little serious, you still end up learning cool, random facts you’ll want to share. It felt like traveling the world through different kinds of cheese - creamy, crumbly, smelly, all of them with a story.
If you love food or just enjoy discovering strange bits of history, this book will totally change how you see that slice of cheese on your sandwich.
The author keeps things short and interesting, and even though some parts feel a little serious, you still end up learning cool, random facts you’ll want to share. It felt like traveling the world through different kinds of cheese - creamy, crumbly, smelly, all of them with a story.
If you love food or just enjoy discovering strange bits of history, this book will totally change how you see that slice of cheese on your sandwich.
September 28, 2019
A fun little rush of a book that at least touches on cheese culture in non-European places (though it doesn't go in depth). It touches on some notable cheesy weirdness, such as Norwegian caramel cheese and cheese maggots, and spends a great deal of time talking about what the Romans thought about cheese. Also includes some historical recipes using cheese, some of questionable tastiness. From this section I learned that "Welsh rarebit" is basically a grilled cheese sandwich.
February 24, 2021
I think the author was trying to fit too much of the topic into such a small space that it got to the point where new readers to the topic are just left confused by the sheer number of types of cheeses discussed with very little explaination about all these cheeses. It also didn't help that the chapters didn't fit together that well either or that a lot of the images didn't match the text of the page that they were on.
February 17, 2014
I wanted to give this a higher rating because I love cheese! But the presentation seems scattered. The book opens with "The Cheeseboard" which gives brief but detailed histories of various cheeses often grouped together on a cheeseboard. The next chapter, on history, could've been made into an entire book on its own, which is what I expected. But no, Dalby skims over big developments to hit the highlights but nothing more. Then the next two chapters cover making and consuming cheese, respectively, which read like someone skipping around Europe through time to collate a bunch of quotes and anecdotes representative of the making and enjoyment of cheese. Overall, it's a fun little book to read if you're comfortable skipping from cheese to cheese, country to country, and topic to topic. I, however, thought this would be a more straight-forward journey discussing the history and culture of cheese as it progressed through time.
June 11, 2013
A 3 star rating is somewhat harsh - 3.5 would be more accurate. It's a good book and why wouldn't it be; the subject has certain inherent merit provided you are an upright citizen who enjoys the pleasures of cheese.
It loses marks owing to restrictions in the format - all of these books by Reaktion aim for a bitesize yet fairly comprehensive look at a topic: the result can be an overload of information squeezed within the smallest space possible. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment and some chapters suffer more than others, i'd advise anyone picking up this book to slog through the first section ("The Cheeseboard") as the intense information overloaded eases up from there on.
It loses marks owing to restrictions in the format - all of these books by Reaktion aim for a bitesize yet fairly comprehensive look at a topic: the result can be an overload of information squeezed within the smallest space possible. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment and some chapters suffer more than others, i'd advise anyone picking up this book to slog through the first section ("The Cheeseboard") as the intense information overloaded eases up from there on.
October 6, 2014
I adore the Edible Series from Reaktion Books. Andrew Dalby's Cheese is one of the best. Avoiding chronology and narrative and stressing interpretation and analysis, Cheese is an outstanding example of food studies.
The intangibility of cheese history is captured along with the powerful realization that cheeses are mostly named not after where they are made, but where they are sold.
An outstanding book, Dalby has demonstrated what food history can accomplish with rigour, clarity, imagination and thought.
The intangibility of cheese history is captured along with the powerful realization that cheeses are mostly named not after where they are made, but where they are sold.
An outstanding book, Dalby has demonstrated what food history can accomplish with rigour, clarity, imagination and thought.
May 17, 2012
Lots of interesting tidbits and stories. Easy to read and short. Not as entertaining as I would have wanted a cheese history book to be. I guess I will just have to wait for Bill Bryson to do the History of cheese. Seriously some cool stories, I just needed a better narrator :)
September 27, 2010
cheese makes life worth living and i love food anthros.
February 8, 2012
This book just seemed to me to be a collection of facts about cheese. It did not hold together as an essay or dissertation just dry facts.
January 15, 2017
Muddled.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews