Cutting the Curd

Episode 161: Book Review: Pacific Northwest Cheese

Episode Summary

On this edition of the Cutting the Curd Book Review, Diane Stemple chats with Tami Parr, author of Pacific Northwest Cheese: A History about, well... the history of cheese in the Pacific Northwest! Learn about the research that was involved with writing the book, and how Tami had to dig through the archives of the Library of Congress to discover some of the Wests oldest cheesemakers! Learn how milk shortages affected cheesemakers, and why competition for milk was fierce in the earliest days of Oregon cheesemaking. Were goat and sheeps milk cheeses common in the early days of Pacific Northwest cheesemaking? Finally, find out how the industrial revolution allowed cheesemakers to flourish in the region. Thanks to our sponsor, Academie Opus Caseus. Music by Obey City. In the early history of the Pacific Northwest, there wasnt a lot of milk. So there were huge amounts of competition for cheesemakers... [20:00] A farmer can make a lot more of a profit off of a cow than a goat or a sheep. [22:10] -- Tami Parr on Cutting the Curd

Episode Notes

On this edition of the Cutting the Curd Book Review, Diane Stemple chats with Tami Parr, author of Pacific Northwest Cheese: A History about, well… the history of cheese in the Pacific Northwest! Learn about the research that was involved with writing the book, and how Tami had to dig through the archives of the Library of Congress to discover some of the West’s oldest cheesemakers! Learn how milk shortages affected cheesemakers, and why competition for milk was fierce in the earliest days of Oregon cheesemaking. Were goat and sheep’s milk cheeses common in the early days of Pacific Northwest cheesemaking? Finally, find out how the industrial revolution allowed cheesemakers to flourish in the region. Thanks to our sponsor, Academie Opus Caseus. Music by Obey City.



“In the early history of the Pacific Northwest, there wasn’t a lot of milk. So there were huge amounts of competition for cheesemakers…” [20:00]

“A farmer can make a lot more of a profit off of a cow than a goat or a sheep.” [22:10]

Tami Parr on Cutting the Curd