Book Recommendations - Technical Cheese Making

[ScottC]

Hi All,

I can find plenty of information in the form of recipes that simply tell you what to do at various time points... but not much on why you add them, why you wait any particular amount of time between steps, what effect various parameters have on the cheese such as pH, salt concentration, etc (other than the very basics - what does rennet do, what is a starter etc.).

So, I'm looking for a technical book/reference.  Eventually, I'd like to be able to decide on the aspects of a cheese I'd like to make, and come up with a rational method for producing it. So, what would you recommend as a technical book about cheese making? I don't want recipes - I'm looking for information about aspects of cheesemaking and how they affect the final cheese (I'm quite happy with technical books including chemical and microbiological information).

Some recommendations I've seen are:

The Cheesemaker's Manual (Morris)
American Farmestead Cheesen (Kindstedt)


Cheers,

Scott.

[ArnaudForestier]

Hi Scott - I have and enjoy Paul Kindstedt's book. 

I also have access to UW Madison's library, which is a fantastic resource, as buying the following outright would pose a pretty penny.  Some texts that came recommended to me by Pav, and that I've begun to read through:

Fundamentals of Cheese Science, by Fox, et al.

Dairy Microbiology Handbook: The Microbiology of Milk and Milk Products [Hardcover] Richard K. Robinson (Editor)

Technology of Dairy Products [Hardcover] Ralph Early (Author)

Cheese Problems Solved (Woodhead Publishing in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition) [Hardcover] P. McSweeny (Editor)

Cheese & Fermented Milk Foods (2 volume set) [Hardcover] Frank Y. Kosikowski (Author), Vikram V. Mistry (Author)

Technology of Cheesemaking (Society of Dairy Technology series) [Hardcover]
Barry A. Law (Editor), Adnan Tamime (Editor)

Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk [Hardcover]
B.A. Law (Editor)

Cheese: Chemistry, Physics, & Microbiology 2 Major Cheese Groups [Hardcover] Patrick F. Fox (Author)

As you can see, these texts are ridiculously expensive; I'm glad to have access to them via our local library.  Of them, I especially enjoy Fox - rigorous, but well-written, an enjoyable read.  Kosikowski's text (I only have the second volume, dealing with procedures, and that, in a lot of cheeses I'm not really interested in) is interesting, if nothing else, to see something of large, commercial practice in a variety of styles.  (And to pose hours of frustration, trying to sort it all out for the small guy, or small wheel.  ).

[linuxboy]

Also Advanced Dairy Chemistry. Also do this: pick one cheese, just one cheese, not even a family, and learn everything you can about it. Learn the history, the people who made it, the milk, why they made it, how they aged it, and then go on to the microbiological and other aspects. As you go through these exercises, especially the chem/bio side, ask yourself:

- If I added more/less of rennet or culture, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor
- If I waited longer/shorter at this step, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor?
- If I Increased/decreased temp at this step, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor?

If you can do this for one cheese, just one cheese, you'll find it will take you only a few days before you can answer those questions for another cheese.  It's fun .

Margaret's book is OK, but it will only ever so slightly help you reach your goal. It's a hands-on kind of book for people who don't want to or don't need to learn the science. Paul's book is alright, but in order to benefit from it, you must already have a background in junior-college-level biochem and microbio.  And if you already have the background, it's frustrating because in some aspects he doesn't go far in explaining dynamics (by choice, he didn't want to be boring). I wouldn't start there; I would start with Fox, McSweeney, and Kosikowski.

[chvrefromage]

Hello-

I was wondering if I could suggest a few books that I've read that helped me go beyond recipes and into understanding what is happening in the vat.  Forgive me if you already know about this stuff, I'm new here.

One of the problems with learning about making cheese is that there are basically three levels of books on cheesemaking.  There are books and journals that are aimed at the home hobbyist, the artisanal cheesemaker, and textbooks and massive tomes for the industrial cheesemaker.  The science is pretty much all the same but sometimes the difference in scale and the different techniques used can be intimidating.

Below are two books explain the science behind milk and cheese from a kitchen-based, culinary standpoint.  The McGee has a great chapter on cheese and how and why milk turns into cheese in addition to chapters on proteins and fermentation, written in a manner that is easy to understand.  The Mendelson is a cultural history of milk and dairy products and is a pretty interesting read too.  It also includes some recipes for simple home cheese.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages by Anne Mendelson

http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Surprising-Story-Through-Ages/dp/B004AYCXHK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299351277&sr=1-1

---

As far as the science goes, if you're looking to understand what goes on in cheesemaking you have to wrap your mind around the acidification schedule that milk undergoes on its journey to becoming cheese.  Measuring ph and temperature and time, and coupling these with technique; this is the best way to understand cheese making. 

I've found the best descriptions and explanations of the cheesemaking process in the Kindstedt book American Farmstead Cheese.  It's a bit hard to follow at times, mainly because it has a lot of chemistry and microbiology in it, but learning about the acidification curve will help you figure out what went wrong and maybe help you fix it or prevent it in the future.  It's also written for the artisanal cheesemaker, so the issues of scale shouldn't be too intimidating.

If you're interested in making goat cheese, The Fabrication Of Farmstead Goat Cheese by Jean-Claude Le Jaouen is a good one that covers a lot of the basics for the artisanal goat cheesemaker.  It even details how to design cheese make rooms and caves for aging.

http://www.amazon.com/Fabrication-Farmstead-Goat-Cheese/dp/0960740430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299352607&sr=1-1

There are also resources and journals for the small dairy or artisanal producer.  I heartily recommend Peter Dixon's newsletter which has facts and recipes and explanations and all kinds of good stuff.  His classes are great too, especially if he's coming to your area.

http://www.dairyfoodsconsulting.com/index.shtml

There's also Creamline and The Cheese Enthusiast, which are useful newsletters for the small producer/hobbyist.

http://www.smalldairy.com/publications.html

As far as the big guys go, I'm working on reading Fundamentals of Cheese Science by Patrick F. Fox (Author), Paul McSweeney (Author), Timothy M. Cogan (Author), Timothy P. Guinee (Author). 

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Cheese-Science-Patrick-Fox/dp/0834212609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299353301&sr=1-1

This is the book for the people that make industrial cheese.  Like I said, the science is there, but some of the practices and techniques that they discuss are not things that the home cheese maker needs to worry about.  Some of the industrial methods would actually be bad practices for the artisanal cheese maker.

Also in the realm of the big industrial books is Technology of Cheesemaking (Society of Dairy Technology series) by Barry A. Law (Editor), Adnan Tamime (Editor). 

http://www.amazon.com/Technology-Cheesemaking-Society-Dairy/dp/1405182989/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299353503&sr=1-2

Both of these books are expensive and a bit unwieldy.  I'm not suggesting that you do anything illegal or unethical, but I've seen both of them available online as bittorrents on places like demonoid.me (so that you would have an electronic copy to back up your hardcover version, of course). 

Hope this works and gives you some ideas.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks

Chvfromage

[ScottC]

- If I added more/less of rennet or culture, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor
- If I waited longer/shorter at this step, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor?
- If I Increased/decreased temp at this step, what would happen? How does it affect cheese flavor?

Yes, these are exactly the kinds of questions I'm looking to be able to answer. I know I can discover it the hard/long/expensive way (by trial and error), or by getting the experience working along side a cheesemaker (unfortunately this is not an option!) but I'm sure it's also documented in books to give me a head-start!

As far as the science goes, if you're looking to understand what goes on in cheesemaking you have to wrap your mind around the acidification schedule that milk undergoes on its journey to becoming cheese.  Measuring ph and temperature and time, and coupling these with technique; this is the best way to understand cheese making.

Yes, that's what I'm looking for. Descriptions of the processes and how/why they affect the final product.

It's a bit hard to follow at times, mainly because it has a lot of chemistry and microbiology in it,

This is fine. I'd prefer it that way!

Thanks to all the posters so far. I'll look into a few of these... many look like they're exactly what I'm looking for!

[coffee joe]

I found a very good book for this type of information
"Cheesemaking Practice" R. Scott 1981 Applied Science Publishers of London

[Scarlet Runner]

Not an expert- but a newcomer to cheesemaking...

Fundamentals of Cheese Science (Fox) answered many technical questions for me about general principles backed up by data (chemistry and microbiology).  Several other books I've tried were worthless.  I'm reading Kinstedt now and also find it very helpful.

[smilingcalico]

Has anyone read Cheesemaking Practice R. Scott, Richard Kenneth Robinson, R. Andrew Wilbey.  If so, would you recommend it?

[linuxboy]

Yes, that's a classic, but IMHO Fox does a better job. Check it out at your library, either directly or through inter-library loan before buying. I've gotten something out of all the books that have been listed (have read them all). Many other good ones, but beyond Fox, Law, Kosikowski, McSweeney, Tamime, and a few others, you shouldn't need much.

Scott, I've gone through the years of education, so if you have some questions, please post or PM. It's not that hard in the end, but it does take some time to connect the dots. Sometimes (rarely) the books are wrong, or there have been studies with better information, or there are practical details, like strain selection, that you won't find in the books.

[KosherBaker]

Awesome thread. I'm wondering what are the ethical ramifications of reading these books through Google Books? Does anyone have any idea?

Also the CheeseMaking.com has Kosikowski's Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods for $75, which is the best price I've found for those 2 volumes so far.

[kookookachoo]

I'm going to say thank you, too, for the books recommended!  I enjoy making cheese, it's going to be a hobby that will stay with me probably until I'm too old to lift a vat myself.  Apart from enjoying the process of making, I also ask why?  All the time.  Drives my hubby nuts!  I read recipes on how-to online & they're basically cut & dried any-food recipes.  Then I asked myself, "but why at that temperature when...?" and "so, what happens if you follow the directions & it turns out wrong..what did I do wrong?  was the milk too acidic?  less?"  Which was one of the main reasons I found this site!  My feta-making was going along well & yet I had a niggling worry of what if's...and what if my kitchen was super-hot from an all-day school bake was affecting how the cheese would dry/stay wet?  So, on to the internet.  Of course, reading the forums have only opened up a bazillion other questions!   Reading back-and-forth posts from members about the more scientific aspects....I'm thinking, "Crap!  I've barely even scratched the surface!".  I ultimately want to learn the science behind why one mold needs to be encouraged if a certain effect is desired, for example.  Not just the cut & dried making-then-consumption aspects. 

I'm happy to find out our library (I live in a small town) has one of those "rolling" library systems & they've requested a couple of books listed for me from other libraries.  Yay! 

[Marta]

Finally, something on which I AM an expert!  No ethical problem reading books on Google Books.  If the item is IN copyright you won't be able to read all of it anyway, and if it's OUT of copyright it's because either it's old or else the author has voluntarily released his or her work to the public domain. 

If a book really benefits from rereading or it's a reference work to which you need quick access, AND if it's available, AND you have the cash, then throw some money the author's way and buy the hard copy. 

No, the problem will be you won't have Google with you in the kitchen

[wharris]

Impressive list of books.

Cheese: Chemistry, Physics, & Microbiology 2 Major Cheese Groups [Hardcover] Patrick F. Fox (Author)

I would only add that This is a 2 Volume set.
Here is the other volume.
Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology: Volume 1: General Aspects

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Wayne, forgot to put that up. 

FYI for anyone interested in the Kosikowski set from New England Cheesemaking (thanks, Rudy, for the heads up): Confirmed this isn't an "off-printing," reduced size, something like this.  Same exact text as the classic, as amended, 3rd edition (Kosikowski's daughter made substantial revisions, as I understand it).  Seems like a great deal.

[ArnaudForestier]

Having taken my first pass through Fox et al's Fundamentals of Cheese Science, I affirm my pleasure in reading his work.*  I found the book a wonderfully approachable text to the underlying science behind all aspects of cheesemaking, and am looking forward to going through it again.  I am going to the Library today to obtain Kosikowski's first volume in his 2-volume classic, but as of now, really digging the Fundamentals text. 


*I was particularly keyed by the biochem and microbiological coverage, but the discussions on rheology, sensory technology ("artificial nose....."- who'd have thought?) and other aspects were equally illuminating, if not quite as immediately pleasurable, for me - that's just me, my preference for life sciences; all of it, really, wonderful.