The DIY bible for home cheese makers from expert David Asher from the Black Sheep School of Cheesemaking, author of Milk into Cheese
Includes more than 35 step-by-step recipes, from kefir and paneer to washed-rind and alpine styles
David Asher practices and preaches a traditional but countercultural way of making cheese—one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science. Fully illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams and photos, David’s guide for home and small-scale commercial cheesemakers includes:
• An exploration of the basic elements of cheese: milk, cultures, rennet, salt, tools, and the cheese cave
• How to source good milk, including raw milk
• How to keep your own bacterial starter cultures and fungal ripening cultures
• How to make your own rennet—and how to make good cheese without it
• How to use appropriate technologies and avoid the use of plastic equipment and chemical additives
• Chapters covering cheeses like Gouda, Feta, Chèvre, and Blue
The Art of Natural Cheesemaking is 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.