From the Editors

If you’ve ever had genuine farmhouse Cheddar from England, or real Alsatian Munster, or aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, you know that fine hand-crafted cheeses have absolutely nothing to do with the bland, shrink-wrapped, food-colored offerings that evoke school cafeterias. Artisanal cheeses—from luscious triple crèmes to the “boss” blues—are complex and richly rewarding, very similar to fine wines. And these cheeses get even more rewarding if you know something about their subtleties, their attributes, and how to get the most out of them—like which wines go with which cheeses (and why), or how a multiple-cheese tasting should progress, or what an appropriate portion size is, or which accompaniments work best, or why the Loire chèvres peak in autumn. <br><br>Max McCalman is one of the world’s foremost experts on these matters. As the maître fromager (or “cheese master”) at the acclaimed restaurants Picholine and Artisanal in New York City, he spends his entire day, every day, dealing with cheese—ordering it, tasting it, studying it, serving it. And <b>The Cheese Plate</b> is the culmination of his years of passion and study for this subject: the definitive work on how to enjoy the world’s greatest cheeses (and what those cheeses are) at home. <br><br><b>The Cheese Plate</b> begins with the fundamentals: history, what exactly cheese is, and how it’s made. Then Max moves onto the subject that has made him a star in the culinary world—the art of cheese tasting. To begin with, it’s important to know how to buy, store, and serve cheeses, and then how to taste them (again, as with wines, the best results come with a little finesse). Then you’ll want to pair cheeses with other foods and beverages, especially wines, to bring out the best of both. And with all this expertise in hand, you’ll want to construct cheese plates, from a quick lunch assortment to a full after-dinner tasting extravaganza. Finally, you’ll appreciate a rundown of the best cheeses in the world—where they’re from, what they look and taste like, their perfect wine accompaniments—so that you can become a maître fromager in your own right.
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Customer Response

Excellent read for cheese lovers
I am a lover of cheese. I've dabbled in cheese making at home and have even taken a Cheese Certificate Course but still learned a lot from this book. I find it to be quite thorough and approachable and if it had been up to me I would have recommended this as one of the texts for the class.

The book includes sections on the history of cheese, the basics of cheese, the cheese making process, buying, storing, and serving cheeses, tasting, pairing cheeses, and constructing a cheese course. I found the first three sections to be interesting, but the most comparable to other books I have read like Cheese Primer and American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide To Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses, but it's the chapters on serving, tasting, and pairing cheese where this book really shines. What I love about the book is that it's the perfect balance of theory and practical, hands on tips. The author also mentions that he only shares pairings that he himself has confirmed works which I appreciated. Overall the sections are tremendously educational and I felt that even someone like me who has done a lot of cheese tasting was still able to learn things and refine my knowledge. Basically, you'll find a lot of information here that is well written and researched and some of it that I haven't seen elsewhere.

The bottom line is that this is a fantastic book. If you're looking for specific pairing and cheese course suggestions you will find that here as well as a lot of principles, theories, and suggestions to help you craft plates and pairings on your own. I highly recommend it for a cheese lover's library along with books like The Cheese Lover's Cookbook and Guide: Over 150 Recipes with Instructions on How to Buy, Store, and Serve All Your Favorite Cheeses, Cheese Primer and [[ASIN:1931498776 American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide To Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses].

Too detailed...not for the amateur.
This book covers a lot about cheese, it is certainly for the dedicated cheese connoisseur and not the amateur. There were 6 different assorted cheese tastings (similar to wine tastings). Each tasting had 6-7 different cheeses on each plate. Out of the 42 cheeses listed I could only find 4 of them. These were specialty cheeses that you'd have to actually purchase online or a cheese store. I live in the mid-west and we don't have such stores. I also wouldn't spend the money to, it was just too high brow for me.

The cheeses listed were Perail, Durrus, Isores, Taleggio, Cedar, Valencay, Coolea, Llangloffan, Monte Enebro, and Reblochon just to name a few. Perhaps see if you can find at your cheese store before purchasing this book. It wouldn't do you much good to have the book and then not be able to purchase the specific cheeses mentioned for all the tastings.

The author considers American cheddar an abomination and says the only real cheddar is Keen, Montgomery or Reade's.

HTH. The book itself has high gloss pages, good pictures, 232 pages. The print is brown text on white pages so some might have trouble reading it.

Mad Max....
I really am not sure what I was looking for from this book, but I didn't find it. I guess I was looking for a book to give me a full spectrum view of fine cheeses (I don't have any fine cheese experience). Max certainly goes over the entire spectrum of cheeses, however his seriousness and dedication to cheese gets in the way from being able to communicate with a cheese amature like myself. Overall, the book had too much detail and although I wanted to learn about cheese, the book couldn't hold me attention and I didn't get me the education I was looking for.

The Best Yet
I am a relative newcomer to the world of cheese. While I have read several books on cheese, this is - by far - the best introduction and guide to the world of cheese that I have found. Thank you!

The nice and useful book
Every cheeselover must have this book. This is not the standard cheese encyclopedia and cookbook. Max wrote it with the passion and full involvement into his great job.

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