Cutting the Curd

Episode 234: Book Review: The Art of Natural Cheesemaking

Episode Summary

Most DIY cheesemaking books are hard to follow, complicated, and confusing, and call for the use of packaged freeze-dried cultures, chemical additives, and expensive cheesemaking equipment. This week on Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple is in studio with David Asher, author of The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the Worlds Best Cheeses, who seeks to influence cheesemakers to adopt more natural, sustainable practices. Preaching a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of making cheese―one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science―Diane goes behind the scenes of the book and uncovers Davids path to natural cheesemaking. This program was brought to you by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. I believe that theres a healthy community of microbes out there that can help cheesemakers practice a very safe, traditional cheese making. [18:10] I will not necessarily choose certified organic cheese over not certified organic cheese. The organic regulations really just apply to the production of milk rather than the production of the cheese. [24:25] --David Asher on Cutting the Curd andnbsp; andnbsp;

Episode Notes

Most DIY cheesemaking books are hard to follow, complicated, and confusing, and call for the use of packaged freeze-dried cultures, chemical additives, and expensive cheesemaking equipment.  This week on Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple is in studio with David Asher, author of “The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World’s Best Cheeses,” who seeks to influence cheesemakers to adopt more natural, sustainable practices. Preaching a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of making cheese―one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science―Diane goes behind the scenes of the book and uncovers David’s path to natural cheesemaking. This program was brought to you by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

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“I believe that there’s a healthy community of microbes out there that can help cheesemakers practice a very safe, traditional cheese making.” [18:10]

“I will not necessarily choose certified organic cheese over not certified organic cheese. The organic regulations really just apply to the production of milk rather than the production of the cheese.” [24:25]

–David Asher on Cutting the Curd