Kristina’s Bookshelf  

Fighting for Real Cheese

Reinventing the Wheel:
Milk, Microbes, and the Fight for Real Cheese

by Bronwen Percival and Francis Percival
(University of California Press, 2017 )

Cheesemaking was once a simple, earnest craft. Farmers, homemakers, food crafters, and others used fresh milk from healthy, pasture-grazed animals to make flavorful cheeses without chemicals or additives. Those practices have been changed dramatically by industrial production, as Bronwen Percival, a British cheese writer and professional cheese buyer, and Francis Percival, a food journalist, describe in this well-researched and detailed book. The authors explain how cheese was formerly “the product of its own indigenous microbial cultures, local breeds, and specialized knowledge,” but in recent times has largely become a product of industrial monoculture. They also explore how cheesemakers in France, the United States, and Australia are rediscovering the techniques of older generations and what makes a “good” cheese.

Join the authors for an educational evening with plenty of cheese to taste. Books will be available for purchase at 15{94d79dd6af1e87a94e700e4c297236468333f22e27ed5757b44711974a9a4b91} off cover price. Cost: $35. Tickets and info: here

Reinventing the Wheel; Milk, Microbes, and the Fight for Real Cheese
Tuesday September 5, 7:45pm
The Cheese Board Collective
1504 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley

Edible East Bay’s book editor Kristina Sepetys is eager to share her ideas and book recommendations with our readers.