Curl up with a Pumpkin Spice Latte and indulge in these cheesy reads. 

Melt, Stretch, & Sizzle

In Melt, Stretch, & Sizzle (Universe, October 2018; $35), cheese specialist and educator Tia Keenan extends a guiding hand to turophiles with delectable recipes revolving around melted cheese. After putting hot cheese cookery in context, Keenan delves into a collection of foundational, diverse, and truly melty dishes—think a flight of grilled cheeses; a streamlined how-to for an elevated cheese soufflé; and an oozy fried burrata with roasted tomatoes. Along the way, the drool-inducing recipes are interspersed with helpful tips and “cheese notes” like preferred cooking tools, brands, and pairings. 

Milk!

According to West African Fulani folklore, the world was created by a giant drop of spilled milk. Mark Kurlansky’s Milk! A 10,000 Year Food Fracas (Bloomsbury Publishing, May 2018; $29) is a microhistory of all things dairy and—you guessed it!—milk. Kurlansky traces our tumultuous relationship with dairy throughout human history, from desert Bedouins drinking horse’s milk to Icelandic fisherfolk sipping on fermented whey. Learn creative 16th-century insults (such as “two-legged cheese worm”) while you daydream about the 1,250–pound cheddar cheese wheel made for Queen Victoria’s wedding. Humanity may come from spilled milk, but that doesn’t mean we have to cry about it.

The Wildcrafting Brewer

“Humans, since the dawn of time, have been brewing boozy concoctions that often transcend regular labels.” If you’ve ever dreamed of crafting outside-the-box beer, then Pascal Baudar’s The Wildcrafting Brewer (Chelsea Green Publishing, February 2018; $30) is for you. With infectious enthusiasm, Baudar promotes creative and unfettered experimentation as he teaches every aspect of home brewing from foraged ingredients. From pinecone syrup to elderberry wine, you’ll find the recipes interspersed with vibrant photographs and humorous anecdotes from Baudar’s successes (and failures) with hyperlocal brewing. 

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