A good primer, but not a great resource, February 3, 2009

If you’ve never tried making butter, yogurt, etc. and you just want to learn how to make a reasonable quart of yogurt or marscapone (as opposed to trying to be a diary expert), this is a good and useful book. The instructions are clear and concise, and it doesn’t bog you down with too much technical data. After all, showing the kids how to make butter shouldn’t require a master’s level course in chemistry. If you have illusions about becoming some kind of master craftsman with your homemade ricotta, this book probably will disappoint.

Two things potential buyers should be aware of:

1. About 2/3 of the book is recipes for using basic dairy items. Maybe that’s helpful to some, but wouldn’t someone wanting to make their own cottage cheese already know what to do with it? The recipes are fairly run-of-the-mill. I didn’t see any that I didn’t already have in another source.

2. While the font size is large, the font style (the actual lines) is…

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leaves much to be desired, April 2, 2009

By 

J. Carlile (Hannover, Germany) – See all my reviews

  

I have a lot of cookbooks, and besides making recipes from them, I simply enjoy reading them, getting the author’s perspective etc. I bought this book hoping for an in depth introduction to making cheeses at home, plus some tips and tricks from someone who knows what they are doing. And well, this book is just boring. It certainly has easy to follow recipes for the basics — yogurt, ricotta, butter, farmer’s cheese — but doesn’t go beyond this. And the writing is sterile and without character.

Basically, my takeaway message is there is nothing in this cookbook (recipes, directions, witty writing even) that I couldn’t easily find elsewhere, and is a boring read. Don’t waste your money.

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A very good place to start, October 14, 2009

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Elaina M. Hancock (Willimantic CT) – See all my reviews

  

This is a good beginners book for soft cheese making. There are lots of easy-to-follow recipes for everything from butter to creme fraiche to mozzarella, just about any soft cheese you can imagine. Another nice quality this book has is that there are usually a few variations for a particular recipe, which comes in handy if you are short on a particular ingredient. I’ve made several recipes from this book with both cow’s milk as well as goat’s milk that have all come out well. Some of the recipes are a little confusing and leave a little room for guessing. As with anything, the first time trying a new recipe may be a little awkward, but you’ll soon get the hang of it. I would definitely recommend this book to new cheese makers.

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