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Confirmation of sale and communicatation were rapid. Terrific seller. The book was exactly as described.
Cheesemaking is a bit of experimental alchemy but that's part of the fun (IIMO). The recipies in this book are easy to follow and absolutely wonderful. I love this book. I've been making my own soft cheese for about two years now and thought I would like to "branch out". I also enjoyed the one-page stories about other cheesemakers and their experiences.Ricki's soft cheese recipies are a little more complicated than the one I have been using (an ancient Roman recipe) but just as delicious.Some of the more complicated cheese recipies may be intimidating to novice cheesemakers but give them a try.
I loved the sheer variety of recipes contained within its pages. As some other reviewers mentioned, I was expecting only soft, "easier" cheeses and was happy to see a variety of more complicated aged cheeses as well. This disapointed me since I went out of my way (both in terms of traveling and $) to purchase high quality raw milk and felt like much of it was going to waste.It is also worth noting that most of the recipes require cultures, rennet, etc. I also found that most of the diagrams were not useful in making the soft cheeses. Luckily there are MANY websites that carry these supplies so they are not impossible to find, you just have to expect to pay for shipping.The bottom line is that this book provides a great wealth of recipes. I eventually went to the author's own website for more information and was surprised to find there were some differences between the recipes and methods presented in the book and those on her website. This was something I was expecting going in so it doesn't lower my star rating of this book.
However, it is something worth considering if you do not wish to make a special trip for these ingredients. This book seems like it is geared for the beginner, yet when you get to the recipes you're often not told how long something needs to be heated (approximately) before it reaches the right stage, what the curds should look like, etc. I wish this book had been more like Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, which does a good job of taking things that could be complicated and simplifying them. However, the instructions are kind of vague so I feel like in order to use them I am going to have to do additional research on the side. There are some diagrams in the upfront background section but they are not nearly detailed enough and not convenient to find. At first glace I was thrilled with this book. I really felt like most cheeses I would want to make were contained within these pages.Sadly, my enthusiasm wore off when I started trying the recipes.
When you're actually making a cheese recipe there is nothing worse than having to flip through the book to find the diagrams, especially when the recipes do not tell you where to find them. that are quite hard to find outside shops that specialized in beer, wine, and cheese making supplies. Had I not recieved this as a gift I would have probably started by trying out recipes on the internet first or a kit and then would have moved onto this book once I had more of the basic know how and the knowledge to fill in the gaps of a vague recipe. I recieved this book as a Christmas present from my boyfriend along with a cheesemaking kit. It's not that they are bad, but they could benefit from more details. Even the ricotta recipe requires citric acid, which I could only find at a specialty shop, not Whole Foods.
Other books mention that you can let a certain step go for longer if needed or the temperature can be within a range instead of exactly X degrees. Buy this book, but plan on needing others to get a clear idea of the process and to have success in cheese making. It would be nice to have an explanation of the whys and hows and what can be adjusted. Well there aren't really 75 cheeses.
Other books also mention HOW to raise your pot of curds by 2 degrees every 5 minutes, she just tells you to do it. There's several recipes for cream cheese, ricotta, mozarella, cheddar and I felt several cheeses I would have wanted weren't in here - feta is pretty basic, why isn't it in here. One problem is that, well, you're going to have problems and other than a brief troubleshooting guide there is really no help. I like how other books rank the recipes from easiest to hardest and also tell you a total time the whole process will take.All in all I refer to this book when I make my cheese but I will no longer use it as my sole source for a recipe. If you forget her mention of this in the beginning of the book your cheese is not going to turn out. I wouldn't classify this as a beginner's cheese making book at all.
It's as if the author just expects that if you follow her steps all will turn out perfect. Other books have the calcium chloride in the ingredient list for each recipe and tell you when to add it. I was lost the first time I read this until I found another book that told me what setting to put my stove at. Even her famous 30 minute mozarella is a hit or miss affair but when I used another company's recipe it came out perfect the first time. This book is interesting and it does get you excited about what you can make with the moo juice in the grocery store, but as other people mention, it does not give the best instructions. It doesn'tShe also barely mentions the need to add calcium chloride to store bought milk (needed due to processing of the milk) and doesn't include it in her recipes.
I just feel alot is missing from this books that should be there if you are going to market it as a beginning cheese making book.The recipes.
This book is simple and easy to follow, just adjust heat temperature to suit country. I have made some yummy cheese.
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