cheese book - recommendations

[Renata]

I am interested in learning more about cheeses and would like to purchase a book to use as a reference. I was thinking of Steve Jenkins Cheese Primer. Any comments on that one, or suggestions for another book. Since I am just beginning I don't think I am ready for an huge tome, just something to get me started.

Thanks

[Doktor Faustus]

I like "The Cheese Primer" by Steven Jenkins. This is a fairly large book, but it doesn't have to be read in order. At the back is a short summary description of many important cheeses indicating availability, typical appearance, serving recommendations, and personal appreciation of the cheese's place in the panoply of cheese. More detailed descriptions of these same cheeses and many others are arranged with other cheeses from the same general region in the main body of the book. Sections, for example the Savoie region of France, are prefaced with a brief description of the region as a cheese source, then the important cheeses of the region are discussed. I have three cheese books -- a thin pocket reference guide, a book on French cheeses, and Steven Jenkins's book which is my preferred cheese book.

[orla]

I just bought a wonderful new book this Winter called "The All American Cheese and Wine Book." It's beautiful and very infomative. Yes, it's just US, but one of my favorites. The Cheese Primer is great, but more reference then I like.

[Pupster]

I share your interest in learning more about cheese. I own the Jenkins book -- it's ok, but it seems a little dated to me. Here are the three books I like:

1)Max McCalman's The Cheese Plate
2)Laura Werlin's cheese books, especially The New American Cheese
3)the Doris Kinderley (publisher) book on French Cheeses (written by a Japanese author but sometimes attributed to Joel Rubochon, who wrote the forward)

I basically scoured my local library and checked out a bunch of cheese books, and these three were the ones I found most helpful. But my interest was in identifying and learning about cheeses, and not so much on cooking with cheese.

[Carb Lover]

I second Laura Werlin's book "The New American Cheese." Very informative and thoughtfully-written, but does just cover US made cheeses. Some info does generalize though.

That said, I would advise that you (the OP) check it out first from your library if possible and then decide if you want to purchase it. It actually contains many recipes incorporating cheese. It was a great resource and read, but I didn't feel the need to own it.

[Mar a]

The downside of Jenkins' book is that it does not have color photos -actually not very many photos at all. Look at the McCalman book, for example, and you'll see what a difference it makes to have those color photos to guide you.
Janet Fletcher has another of those books with nice color photos, The Cheese Course (Chronicle Books).
The best thing about the Jenkins is its use as reference. When I want to know a lot about a particular type of cheese, I look it up there. But it's true that by now it feels a bit dated. At Fairway -where the cheese counter is managed by Jenkins- I see cheeses that are not in the primer and I suspect that they have become popular after the book was written.

[Renata]

Thanks for the suggestions, I think the public library is going to see a lot of me while I check these out!