The Fast Track to Cheese Expertise

A wine expert is a sommelier, beer, a cicerone, heck there's even one for charcuterie (it's charcutier, for those curious readers). But is there a term for cheese experts? Not quite. There's the affineur, the person resposible for monitoring the aging process of cheese, the fromager or cheese merchant, and the cheesemonger who sells the cheese. You can add Maître in front of affineur or fromager to express a higher level of knowledge, but there's still no universal term that implies the highest level of cheese mastery.

Not to worry, there are still plenty of affifromamongers (we're still working on the best portmanteau for this situation) that we can turn to in order to teach us about the wonderful world of cheese. They've even written books about it!

First up is Mr. Steven Jenkins and his book Cheese Primer. Cheese Primer looks at the world of cheese though an encyclopaedic lens, starting with the inception of cheese, how it's made, classified, and changes throughout the seasons, and moving to cooking, serving, and eating cheese. From there the book is broken down by country, then region, discussing cheeses hailing from all over the world and their specific characteristics, best examples, wine pairings and bottom line. Coach Farm is even mentioned in Steve's book (and we think he's got a pretty awesome hat on the cover). Overall, it's an epic 576 page pocket tome full of hard (and soft) cheese knowledge and its sure to impress guests when casually strewn across your coffee table.

Our wonderful friends from Culture Magazine came together to publish our next recommendation. Cheese for Dummies is another in the long line of the "Dummies" series, that, ironically, you are quite smart for choosing to read. Similar in structure to Mr. Jenkin's book, Cheese for Dummies spices things up with more thorough drink pairings, a metric conversion guide, and a whole part of the book discussing famous cheesemakers, festivals and the world's most bizarre cheeses. Lighthearted, yet detailed, this is another strong choice to make when choosing to educate yourself. Just stow it away somewhere; that bright yellow cover is a dead giveaway.

Finally, we come to Laura Werlin's Mac & Cheese, Please! which is something yours truly has been politely saying since childhood. The cover alone induces drooling, but wipe it off your lower lip, tie your apron on, and dive into the sweet, melty goodness that is this book. Recipes range from your garden variety mac, to mac with garden veggies, meaty macs, decadent macs and everything in between. She also has tips on preparation, sauces and preservation. In a pinch, this would make a perfect holiday gift, but take note that it doesn't hits the shelves until December 4th.

Any other literary recommendations for cheese fans looking to become froaffingers? Ooh...that one has a nice ring to it!