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A review by susannnochka
Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon Edgar
5.0
"I know it's my contrary nature, but when I think of 'artisinal production,' I think of feudal muck and lack of sanitation a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I am definitely not saying that pasteurization makes superior cheese, but fetishizing the traditional has its drawbacks, too."
What's not to love about this book? It's about cheese, sure-- but it's also about urban living and rural farming; food culture and grueling retail work; punk history and the ever-lingering after-effects of Ronald Reagan.
It's also guaranteed to be the only book in which you'll find the terms "Bikini Kill," "Bovine Somatropin/rBGH/rBST," and "Situationists" in the glossary.
There's a love of cheese here, but it's not the cliché snobbery of California foodie culture: it's a love that extends to the farmers and workers who produce the cheese as well as those who enjoy it. Each chapter loving ends with favorite cheese tips. I'm off to go find some of that Jasper Hill Winnemere.
Read Gordon's blog here:
http://gordonzola.net/
What's not to love about this book? It's about cheese, sure-- but it's also about urban living and rural farming; food culture and grueling retail work; punk history and the ever-lingering after-effects of Ronald Reagan.
It's also guaranteed to be the only book in which you'll find the terms "Bikini Kill," "Bovine Somatropin/rBGH/rBST," and "Situationists" in the glossary.
There's a love of cheese here, but it's not the cliché snobbery of California foodie culture: it's a love that extends to the farmers and workers who produce the cheese as well as those who enjoy it. Each chapter loving ends with favorite cheese tips. I'm off to go find some of that Jasper Hill Winnemere.
Read Gordon's blog here:
http://gordonzola.net/