When you’re as obsessed with cheese as we are, you want to read about it all the time. That’s why culture has a library entirely dedicated to cheese. Want to start your own cheese library? Here are the culturepicks for favorite cookbooks, resources, and references all about cheese from 2013.
Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese: A Guide to Wedges, Recipes, and Pairings
by Tenaya Darlington
Cheese aficionados and recent converts alike will find useful advice within the pages of Tenaya Darlington’s comprehensive curd primer, Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese. The turophile blogger—known as Madame Fromage—in collaboration with the experts at Di Bruno Bros. cheese shop in Philadelphia, has divided her book into ten easy-to-navigate chapters, sorted by cheese “personality.” Rich and decadent triple crèmes find their home under the Vixens headline, Mountain Men is filled with hearty Alpine hunks, and Stinkers, well, that one is self-explanatory. These distinctions, coupled with Darlington’s expressive and detailed descriptions, will help you easily discover your next favorite cheese.
The Mac + Cheese Cookbook: 50 Simple Recipes from Homeroom, America’s Favorite Mac and Cheese Restaurant
by Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade
Authors and restaurateurs Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade compile recipes from their mac ’n’ cheese–focused Oakland, California, restaurant Homeroom. Their debut cookbook showcases 50 fun, approachable recipes, plus eyebrow-raising sides and desserts. It’s addicting and down to earth, just like Homeroom’s seasonal menu (every dish is under $10).
The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese
by Kathe Lison
Just in time for summer armchair travel, The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese (Broadway Books, 2013; $15) by Kathe Lison takes readers on an inquisitive romp across France to track down its notable cheesemakers and examine the country’s regional dairy traditions. Part travelogue, part food history, Lison’s paperback reads like a diary, chronicling the author’s adventures as she—a Wisconsin native—uncovers a trove of French fromages and the characters behind them. Rich in storytelling, the book journeys between the historic past and the delicious present in one the world’s most diverse cheese realms. Pick up a copy of Whole Fromage and get lost in it.
Max McCalman’s Wine and Cheese Pairing Swatchbook: 50 Pairings to Delight Your Palate
by Max McCalman
Max McCalman caters to a practical audience with his Wine + Cheese Pairing Swatchbook (Potter Style, $14.95, Aug. 2013), an on-the-go version of the traditional pairing guide. Find cheeses on one side of each page and corresponding wines on the other—simple, fun, and effective.
Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese
by Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord
A sumptuous page-turner crafted by two seasoned freelance food writers, this book is well suited for turophiles craving cheese science and historical facts as the backdrop to each recipe. Bonus: The appendix lists the cheeses used in each recipe by milk type, style, and origin.
Great Balls of Cheese
by Michelle Buffardi
If you’ve ever wished you could combine your passion for cheese with your love of cute woodland creatures, Great Balls of Cheese (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2013; $16.99) is the book for you. Formerly a craft and food writer for Martha Stewart’s website, Michelle Buffardi plays with simple ingredients to concoct both sweet and savory creations—including some in the shapes of owls, hedgehogs, and caterpillars. Many of the recipes use a cream cheese base but incorporate other cheeses such as feta, Manchego, cheddars, and Gorgonzola.
Cheese Obsession: The Complete Guide with 100 Recipes for Every Course
by Georgeanne Brennan
Packed with information and inspiration, this cookbook takes an authoritative look at cheese, acting as both a comprehensive cookbook as well as a helpful primer on the subject. From key types of cheeses and main regions, to tips on pairing cheese with wine and beer and creating the perfect cheese plate for any occasion, to enticing cheese-centric recipes, organized by course, this is the ultimate resource for any cheese lover who is looking for great ways to showcase this favorite food through delicious dishes. With an engaging personal narrative and gorgeous lifestyle photographs, this is an indispensable guide for anyone who is looking for ideas for serving and cooking with cheese.
The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook: Celebrating Over a Century of Excellence
by Kathy Holstad
Back in 1909, a handful of dairy farmers in Tillamook County, Oregon, formed the Tillamook County Creamery Association. More than 100 years later, they are still using the original recipe. Tillamook Cheese is an award-winning American favorite and a household name. Over the years some of the greatest cheese recipes in the world have been developed, tested, and tasted in anticipation of the release of this one of a kind cookbook. The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook includes recipes such as Cheddar Scallion Biscuits, Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini, and Twice-baked Cheese Soufflé with Deviled Crab Sauce. An entire section is devoted to the Queen of comfort Food—Mac n’ Cheese. Each year, the co-op sponsors a Mac n’ Cheese recipe contest, and this cookbook includes the best warm and creamy, cheesy and sinfully delicious macaroni and cheese recipes from across the nation.
Amy Scheuerman
Amy Scheuerman—culture's former web director—spent eight years in North Carolina where she developed a love of barbecue and biscuits before moving up north to get a degree in nutrition. She now works at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
