Cheese Primer

Cheese Primer, by Steven Jenkins, is a nonfiction work, about (can you guess?) cheese.

For reasons I'll explain later, I'm taking the unprecedented step of reviewing a book I have not read in full. This is perhaps a lesser crime for nonfiction than for fiction, but it nonetheless deserves disclaimer.

The book (pardon the pun) grates, in places. Mr. Jenkins takes something of an anti-scientific stance, unable to apprehend the distinction between science and business decisions — or, in at least one case, the distinction between science and bureaucracy.

He does seem to know his cheeses, cheesemaking, politics (where concerning cheese), and history (ditto), though; his descriptions and chosen illustrations constantly induce salivation. (This is the reason I had to stop reading: if I didn't, I was going to head out to try to get some cheese.) The descriptions of the tastes of individual cheeses are certainly accurate as far as I know them, and very likely farther.

Scattered throughout the book is advice on serving cheese, sometimes with simple recipes; some of it is reasonable, some brilliant, and some questionable — his advice on pairing cheeses with wines is ... amusing: to serve a cheese with a wine from the same region, and nothing more. (At this point, admittedly, I disdain cheese/wine pairing as astrology.)

Considered strictly as a book, the writing needs some cleanup; he repeats himself in places.

Overall, I'm not sure I can recommend it; it's a bit old (things do happen, you know). Still, it's informative, and I'm hungry. (I shan't rate it, though, until I try a couple of his suggestions.)