Photo of the interior of the book “The Art of Making Cheese” by David Asher, provided by Col&Col Ediciones.KELLY BROWN
The first cheese in history emerged from causality, from the encounter between wild yeast and forgotten milk. From then to now, cheese is not just a passion, but a way of socializing, a way of eating and even a lifestyle. It’s a kind of journey into childhood, in search of the first-born ingredient: milk. A person can only be defined by what type of cheese they choose and when they eat it: are we the ones who start a meal with cheese or the ones who serve it at the end? Are we hard or soft, creamy or cured, sheep or goat?
“Traditional cheesemakers have developed different production methods from generation to generation while carefully executing their art. “All cheeses were discovered long before a scientific understanding of the microbiological and chemical forces at work in their creation was achieved,” writes David Asher, organic farmer and author of The Art of Making Cheese (Col&Col Publishers). “With this book I tried to convey a practical, natural and traditional approach to cheese,” he adds.
Mascarpone and lemon cheesecake, by Bea Roque, author of “The Best Cheesecakes” (Libros Cúpula).Bea Roque and Antonio Alcalde
Asher’s is one of the newest books to hit bookstores: a manifesto from someone who raises his fist for cheese made naturally, based on simple ingredients and cultures derived from natural milk. Have we lost cheese culture? “The modern methods we use are based on the fear of raw milk, unknown bacteria, fungi… We do not trust the milk and mistreat it, we drain all life from it through pasteurization as well as “We add commercial varieties.” “Im Monocultures emerged in the laboratory,” explains the author in his book. When you really get into this ode to cheese, you have to understand that when you think about making cheese Asher’s style, you have to deal with the basic ingredient: milk. From there the path leads from rennet to yoghurt to crème fraîche or pasta filata cheese. The first chapters of the book are very clear and necessary. The following recipe book is one of the best suggestions for those who are looking for a kind of bible in a book to start making their first professional cheeses.
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Milk, ferment and life have arrived on the same line. How artisan cheese changed the way I see the world, by Clara Díez (Debate Editorial). This is a book halfway between diary, essay and manifesto for the benefit of the cheese world. In the first person, the author brilliantly tells of her first approaches to the world of cheese, to the pieces that her father brought with her, and her eyes are full of emotions because they met the cheese masters. This audiovisual communications student unintentionally began to be fascinated by a world that over time she has made her own. Everything begins somehow, and for the author – who, by the way, has one of the most beautiful and tempting cheese shops in the capital, Formaje in Madrid – her passion for cheese began “with a rough, milky-colored formation.” ” looked. “I watched her with a certain amount of suspicion. I carefully observed the wrinkled rind that covered the entire surface of the cheese, creating a pattern whose appearance struck me as inexplicably beautiful and insane: the kind of beauty one only perceives in the works of nature. Are those worms? I asked. No, my father replied, it’s mold. And do they eat them?” explains the author. The very personal book takes us, with this enthusiastic self, into the world of milk cheeses, soft cheeses and uncooked pressed pasta… It is inspiring and educational, a read that sometimes makes you think you are sitting with Díez and tasting a cheese go along the peace on board that such a banquet requires.
Photography of cheese in the book “Milk, Ferment and Life” by Clara Diez (editorial debate).JUSTINO DIEZ
A few years ago Ediciones Obelisco published a small and manageable book called “Cheese in an Hour” by Claurida Lucero, with step-by-step photos and pages full of small tips for those who would like to do it without further intention at home cream cheese. Prepare homemade butter or a first ricotta. This book, which is still on the shelves of bookstores, was an incentive for those who were looking not only for successful and quick recipes, but also for simple recipes with which to present their own creations. Cheesecake, for example, was the quick and easy recipe back then that could definitely be a hit at a family dinner. Who would have thought that these cakes would become a craze within just a few years? From this fever or passion emerged many establishments in the main Spanish cities and many new formulas that proved that the typical biscuit and cheese cake can take a turn and become the most gourmet snack in the house. Apparently the publishing world, always very attentive to what was happening in the world, began to publish books whose protagonists were precisely them: cheesecake. And what is the most important thing about these types of publications? May the recipes work out for you. So here are two useful recommendations: The best cheesecakes from Bea Roque (published by Cúpula) and JonCake. The most delicious cheesecakes from Jon García (Planeta Gastro).
In the first case, Bea Roque, best known for her blog El Rincón de Bea, was one of the pioneers in Spain in introducing American baking through her recipes for cookies, bundt cakes and, of course, cheesecake. His book “The Best Cheesecakes” won the Gourmand Award for Best New Cookbook because nothing had been published on the subject at the time. She showed that the world of cheesecake can be infinite, creative and even avant-garde. The volume includes more than 60 recipes with varying levels of difficulty and a lot of originality: from the cup to the coconut-pineapple cheesecake to the now famous Japanese three-ingredient cake.
Blue cheesecake, in the book “Jon Cake, the most gourmet cheesecakes” by chef Jon García (Jon García) from the Planeta Gastro publishing house. The blue cheeses used by the chef include Roncari Blue, Cabrales DOP, Shropshire Blue or Fourme d’Ambert.ÀLEX FROLOFF
On the other hand, Jon Cake is the story of Jon García. A chef who dreamed of making gourmet sandwiches and ended up becoming one of the pioneers of signature cheesecakes. In this book he discovers more than 30 recipes, from the most traditional to the most creative, and reveals the secrets of some of the portions he sells in his establishment at Born in Barcelona. And in addition to its look at the Quesada Pasiega or the Flaons of Menorca, it offers stories linked not only to the cakes but also to two fundamental ingredients and protagonists of this story: milk and from it cheese.
Sara Cucala is a writer, filmmaker and journalist specializing in gastronomy. She is the founder of one of the first gastronomy and travel blogs, has written numerous books, coordinated the culinary content of TVE’s afternoon magazine and directed several films and documentaries. She is the founder and co-owner of the gastronomic bookstore and cooking school A Punto.
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