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A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles
Shortlisted for the Andr� Simon Food and Drink Book Awards for 2019
Every cheese tells a story. Whether it's a fresh young goat's cheese or a big, beefy eighteen-month-old Cheddar, each variety holds the history of the people who first made it, from the builders of Stonehenge to medieval monks, from the Stilton-makers of the eighteenth-century to the factory cheesemakers of the Second World War.
Cheesemonger Ned Palmer takes us on a delicious journey across Britain and Ireland and through time to uncover the histories of beloved old favourites like Cheddar and Wensleydale and fresh innovations like the Irish Cashel Blue or the rambunctious Renegade Monk. Along the way we learn the craft and culture of cheesemaking from the eccentric and engaging characters who have revived and reinvented farmhouse and artisan traditions. And we get to know the major cheese styles - the blues, washed rinds, semi-softs and, unique to the British Isles, the territorials - and discover how best to enjoy them, on a cheeseboard with a glass of Riesling, or as a Welsh rarebit alongside a pint of Pale Ale.
This is a cheesemonger's odyssey, a celebration of history, innovation and taste - and the book all cheese and history lovers will want to devour this Christmas.
Every cheese tells a story. Whether it's a fresh young goat's cheese or a big, beefy eighteen-month-old Cheddar, each variety holds the history of the people who first made it, from the builders of Stonehenge to medieval monks, from the Stilton-makers of the eighteenth-century to the factory cheesemakers of the Second World War.
Cheesemonger Ned Palmer takes us on a delicious journey across Britain and Ireland and through time to uncover the histories of beloved old favourites like Cheddar and Wensleydale and fresh innovations like the Irish Cashel Blue or the rambunctious Renegade Monk. Along the way we learn the craft and culture of cheesemaking from the eccentric and engaging characters who have revived and reinvented farmhouse and artisan traditions. And we get to know the major cheese styles - the blues, washed rinds, semi-softs and, unique to the British Isles, the territorials - and discover how best to enjoy them, on a cheeseboard with a glass of Riesling, or as a Welsh rarebit alongside a pint of Pale Ale.
This is a cheesemonger's odyssey, a celebration of history, innovation and taste - and the book all cheese and history lovers will want to devour this Christmas.
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 28, 2021
119 people are currently reading
1661 people want to read
About the author
Ned Palmer
3 books3 followersNed Palmer is a British cheesemonger and author, and a former jazz pianist. He has worked as an affineur for Neal's Yard Dairy
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
December 11, 2020
Blessed are the cheesemakers: and there is a touch of pythonesque humour about all this. You need to really like cheese to get a great deal out of this (and I do). It is as described a history of the British Isles in terms of cheese, starting in Neolithic times with the origins of cheese and running up to the present day. There is a glorious eccentricity about this, after all, who approaches a tome like the Domesday Book and asks: “I wonder what it says about cheese?”
There is an awful lot about the making of cheese. Each chapter covers a historical period and focusses on a particular modern cheese which represents a typical cheese of the era. Numerous cheeses are mentioned and there is a list in the back. The cheeses covered in the book are generally local farmhouse cheeses, most of which are available at Farmers Markets, specialist cheese shops and some supermarkets. Some of my local cheeses even get a mention (Lincolnshire Poacher for example).
There are lots of interesting historical snapshots, including the Nottingham cheese war of 1766. The ups and downs are all outlined along with the renaissance of cheese making in the last fifty years. If you love cheese you’ll love this.
There is an awful lot about the making of cheese. Each chapter covers a historical period and focusses on a particular modern cheese which represents a typical cheese of the era. Numerous cheeses are mentioned and there is a list in the back. The cheeses covered in the book are generally local farmhouse cheeses, most of which are available at Farmers Markets, specialist cheese shops and some supermarkets. Some of my local cheeses even get a mention (Lincolnshire Poacher for example).
There are lots of interesting historical snapshots, including the Nottingham cheese war of 1766. The ups and downs are all outlined along with the renaissance of cheese making in the last fifty years. If you love cheese you’ll love this.
November 9, 2021
I was eager to read this book after I finished filming much of my discussions for the 14th season of Literary Gladiators. This was 1 of 20 books that I had for my TBR die and it happened to be the first number I rolled, so I finally found my opportunity to read this book. Ned Palmer is a British cheesemonger who uses this account to discuss the history of Britain from the concentration of cheese and its place in society, just as we may see history through the perspective of its leaders or through a specific group of citizens. This book is structured very much like an episode of Unwrapped, in how there are incorporations of history, the different kinds of British cheese, how different kinds of cheese are made, the cheesemakers of Britain, and Palmer's interaction with each. Overall, these accounts were delightful.
The historical material dates back to before the common era, specifically dating the origins of cheese to 6500 BCE, which at that time humans could not digest dairy. Funny enough, Palmer gathers that humans could digest cheese before they could digest milk, likely from goat's milk, for they were among the earliest animals to be domesticated. Palmer also makes mention to the fact that cheesemaking likely created the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Each chapter concentrates on a time period and is then assigned a different kind of cheese. While familiar staples such as Cheddar, Stilton, Cheshire, Wensleydale, and Caerphilly are discussed, Palmer is even more specific with personal favorites of his, primarily from particular cheesemakers and in many cases they are unpasteurized (like Stichelton, cheesemaker Joe Schneider's response to Stilton without the pasteurization).
Palmer makes sure to touch upon some major, noteworthy references to cheese and its role in society, such as that in literature, where Polyphemus, the Cyclops in The Odyssey, was actually a good, careful, and well-organized cheesemaker. Daniel Defoe wrote about Stilton in particular and deemed it "The English Parmesan." Palmer begins by making reference to the cheese shop sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus and how the lack of cheese was somewhat relevant to Britain and their circumstance when they were lacking British cheese up until its resurgence in recent years. There is also reference to how Wallace of Wallace and Gromit's love for Wensleydale cheese (well, he loves all cheese, but Wensleydale is his favorite) gave it a much needed boost. There was no mention to G.K. Chesterton's Sonnet to a Stilton Cheese, but it does cover plenty of nonfictional written accounts that I am aware, three of which come from books that I own.
A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles covers a lot of ground that are going to keep readers engaged. It proves to be a helpful guide to more in-depth information about the kinds of cheese in Britain and brings attention to particular standouts in Palmer's mind. One from Britain would be more likely to benefit from a list of this nature, though, because these makes of cheese are specific made and sold in Britain. This book is written as a memoir, so it does hop around from place to place, Palmer subjects his commentary into much of what he mentions, and he is the first to admit that there are frequent moments of digression. He speaks with a very raw and straightforward voice, though. I did not like the sexual references made pertaining to rennet and the finished product, but that was more of a personal gripe and if it created a better image for the general reader that is not myself, then it worked for their behalf.
The accomplishments of this book outweigh any of the slight concerns. It does a good job championing British cheesemakers and their accomplishments, bringing to light the awards that are given to cheesemaking in the country. The list of favorites provide to be a helpful guide, but would be more beneficial for a resident of Britain. It also brought my attention to the depth of British cheese, such as Caerphilly and how the white, crumbly cheese that I am more familiar is not necessarily the top grade. It also peaked my interest in the mechanics of how cheese is made and what distinguishes one cheese from another and even the approaches that each country has in the process of making cheese.
The best way to sum this book up is that it was a fun book to read. This book was informative about the cheese of Britain, the cheesemakers of Britain, and the history and mechanics of cheesemaking. It is definitely worth attention and I would like to read deeper into the books he mentioned in the back that he used as sources.
The historical material dates back to before the common era, specifically dating the origins of cheese to 6500 BCE, which at that time humans could not digest dairy. Funny enough, Palmer gathers that humans could digest cheese before they could digest milk, likely from goat's milk, for they were among the earliest animals to be domesticated. Palmer also makes mention to the fact that cheesemaking likely created the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Each chapter concentrates on a time period and is then assigned a different kind of cheese. While familiar staples such as Cheddar, Stilton, Cheshire, Wensleydale, and Caerphilly are discussed, Palmer is even more specific with personal favorites of his, primarily from particular cheesemakers and in many cases they are unpasteurized (like Stichelton, cheesemaker Joe Schneider's response to Stilton without the pasteurization).
Palmer makes sure to touch upon some major, noteworthy references to cheese and its role in society, such as that in literature, where Polyphemus, the Cyclops in The Odyssey, was actually a good, careful, and well-organized cheesemaker. Daniel Defoe wrote about Stilton in particular and deemed it "The English Parmesan." Palmer begins by making reference to the cheese shop sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus and how the lack of cheese was somewhat relevant to Britain and their circumstance when they were lacking British cheese up until its resurgence in recent years. There is also reference to how Wallace of Wallace and Gromit's love for Wensleydale cheese (well, he loves all cheese, but Wensleydale is his favorite) gave it a much needed boost. There was no mention to G.K. Chesterton's Sonnet to a Stilton Cheese, but it does cover plenty of nonfictional written accounts that I am aware, three of which come from books that I own.
A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles covers a lot of ground that are going to keep readers engaged. It proves to be a helpful guide to more in-depth information about the kinds of cheese in Britain and brings attention to particular standouts in Palmer's mind. One from Britain would be more likely to benefit from a list of this nature, though, because these makes of cheese are specific made and sold in Britain. This book is written as a memoir, so it does hop around from place to place, Palmer subjects his commentary into much of what he mentions, and he is the first to admit that there are frequent moments of digression. He speaks with a very raw and straightforward voice, though. I did not like the sexual references made pertaining to rennet and the finished product, but that was more of a personal gripe and if it created a better image for the general reader that is not myself, then it worked for their behalf.
The accomplishments of this book outweigh any of the slight concerns. It does a good job championing British cheesemakers and their accomplishments, bringing to light the awards that are given to cheesemaking in the country. The list of favorites provide to be a helpful guide, but would be more beneficial for a resident of Britain. It also brought my attention to the depth of British cheese, such as Caerphilly and how the white, crumbly cheese that I am more familiar is not necessarily the top grade. It also peaked my interest in the mechanics of how cheese is made and what distinguishes one cheese from another and even the approaches that each country has in the process of making cheese.
The best way to sum this book up is that it was a fun book to read. This book was informative about the cheese of Britain, the cheesemakers of Britain, and the history and mechanics of cheesemaking. It is definitely worth attention and I would like to read deeper into the books he mentioned in the back that he used as sources.
July 15, 2020
From early Roman times to modern cheese, fun facts like in 1930s cling film was invented to spray on American soldiers boots for jungle War fair or patch up hole in gunner planes.
This heavy going took me ages to read
This heavy going took me ages to read
April 26, 2021
A fun frolic of a book for those, like me, who love cheese and history! Palmer is a cheesemonger and he knows his subject well, having not only sold the cheese but interacted with and even made cheese with the small-operation makers. There's no snobbery here, though--the mood of the book is enthusiastic for cheese. That's something I can totally get behind.
There is mild overlap with some other books on cheese, notably Kinstedt's Cheese and Culture, but not that much, as Palmer goes much deeper into historical British cheese than any other book I have read. He hones in on some specific cheeses like Wensleydale, Cheshire (new life goal: become a cheese pirate), and Lanark Blue to explore the revolution of cheese as a food and as an industry, bringing the narrative right up to the present day. The book is fascinating throughout, a breezy read that is also informative. I felt the need to share factoids with my husband as I read in the evening.
I highly recommend this book to other cheese lovers, but be warned--if you're not in the UK, it will torment you to read about so many cheeses that are not readily found abroad! Oh, how I yearn to find that Stonebeck cheese...
There is mild overlap with some other books on cheese, notably Kinstedt's Cheese and Culture, but not that much, as Palmer goes much deeper into historical British cheese than any other book I have read. He hones in on some specific cheeses like Wensleydale, Cheshire (new life goal: become a cheese pirate), and Lanark Blue to explore the revolution of cheese as a food and as an industry, bringing the narrative right up to the present day. The book is fascinating throughout, a breezy read that is also informative. I felt the need to share factoids with my husband as I read in the evening.
I highly recommend this book to other cheese lovers, but be warned--if you're not in the UK, it will torment you to read about so many cheeses that are not readily found abroad! Oh, how I yearn to find that Stonebeck cheese...
February 7, 2021
Superb read, and a must for cheese lovers. Well written with lots of good history and then in depth stories of particular cheeses
East to dip in and out of or read from cover to cover
His story of van matured cheese really made me laugh
East to dip in and out of or read from cover to cover
His story of van matured cheese really made me laugh
February 22, 2024
I wanna sit in a pub with Ned Palmer and have him describe all the cheese I cannot physically eat, god bless. Cheese piracy, cheese imperialism, it's all here, folks!
October 26, 2022
Fascinating look at the history of cheesemaking in Britain from Neolithic times through to the present. Some very interesting things I didn’t know about. I was particularly intrigued to read about the Cheese War Of 1766, when Nottingham residents forcibly prevented the exporting of cheese to Lincolnshire. I did not know cheese could arouse such strong passions. Great book for any cheese lover.
April 25, 2021
My partner got me this book as a birthday present in February and I am so glad he did because I would never, ever have chosen it for my self.
A really interesting book, presenting the history of the British Isles, from the palaeolithic age till today, through the production of different cheeses.
I wish I could take the book, ride my car and visit all the little farms mantioned and taste all the brilliant cheeses this country has to offer. But I can't, so I am doing the next best thing: I am going to order every single cheese I can find online!
And some wine. And some ale. You get the picture!
(I even made some ricotta at home!)
A really interesting book, presenting the history of the British Isles, from the palaeolithic age till today, through the production of different cheeses.
I wish I could take the book, ride my car and visit all the little farms mantioned and taste all the brilliant cheeses this country has to offer. But I can't, so I am doing the next best thing: I am going to order every single cheese I can find online!
And some wine. And some ale. You get the picture!
(I even made some ricotta at home!)
September 1, 2023
Just the perfect book in every way
October 10, 2019
Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of cheese in the British Isles! Warning, it will make you want ALL OF THE CHEESE.
March 3, 2024
Absolutely stunningly written non-fiction and a must-have for the cheese lover. Palmer's obsessive enthusiasm for British cheese and its history really shines through every word he writes, and even though I already loved cheese, after reading this book I love it even more (which is probably bad news for my wallet and waistline, but never mind).
November 15, 2020
Back when life was more fun, I went to Neal's Yard Dairy in Burroughs market in London with a couple of my friends. It was so delightful -- you get hit in the face by the incredible scent of cheese, and you can sample all sorts of wonderful British cheeses. I remember particularly being drawn in by the Coolea -- "with its caramelised sugar flavour, this is the sweetest cheese that I know. It is based on a Gouda recipe that Dickie Willems' Dutch parents began making as a sort of hobby when they moved to Ireland in the late 1970s. Victims of their own success, they sold so much that they had to turn the cheesemaking into a business." It's delicious. I ended up having a grand old time charming the cheesemonger by being a deeply American person in the best way by conspiring with her about what cheeses I could smuggle into the United States. I bought a big blue bag there that remains my favorite purse and I carry it constantly.
Mr. Ned Palmer has written a delightful book. My dear friends that I went to Neal's Yard Dairy with sent this signed version over to me, and I read it quite quickly, given my track record with non-fiction. Mr. Palmer previously worked at Neal's Yard for several years, at the essential ground zero of a big revival in British cheesemaking. His deep love of cheese is so clear. Obviously, he is so passionate he wrote a (wonderful) book about its history in the UK. And what a wonderful premise for a book! It's a great way to do an agricultural historical survey. Focusing on a specific topic allows him to provide a lovely overview of the many eras of agricultural expansion in the UK. And he's just a lovely writer, so chatty and so fun. Also this definitely makes me extremely excited to go to London again, one day.
My most minor of quibbles is that in my first printing of the paperback edition, I did spot a few typographic errors. Nothing big, but just surprising to see.
Mr. Ned Palmer has written a delightful book. My dear friends that I went to Neal's Yard Dairy with sent this signed version over to me, and I read it quite quickly, given my track record with non-fiction. Mr. Palmer previously worked at Neal's Yard for several years, at the essential ground zero of a big revival in British cheesemaking. His deep love of cheese is so clear. Obviously, he is so passionate he wrote a (wonderful) book about its history in the UK. And what a wonderful premise for a book! It's a great way to do an agricultural historical survey. Focusing on a specific topic allows him to provide a lovely overview of the many eras of agricultural expansion in the UK. And he's just a lovely writer, so chatty and so fun. Also this definitely makes me extremely excited to go to London again, one day.
My most minor of quibbles is that in my first printing of the paperback edition, I did spot a few typographic errors. Nothing big, but just surprising to see.
November 23, 2020
I am now aware that ‘cheese thief’ and ‘cheese pirate’ are real things — not that I ever doubted it. Also, I now know that you can have a ‘cheese epiphany’, like so many of the fascinating, dedicated cheese makers and mongers in the book who never set out for the cheese life. This is a social history, full of evocative descriptions, anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek humour. It’s been a nice, light read. I’m not crazy about cheese, but the book’s made me hungry to try some new cheeses, so I guess that’s a cheese victory.
April 20, 2021
Warning - this book makes you hungry, and makes you want to rush out and try all the cheeses mentioned in the book (which is a lot of cheese). I really enjoyed hearing the history of the cheeses and particularly the stories of the people who have kept good cheese-making alive. Huge admiration for their skills and dedication.
May 16, 2021
Learnt more about cheese than I thought there was to know. An enjoyable one.
April 12, 2025
Delicious.
This is the story of Britain told through cheese- as written by a cheesemonger.
From Neolithic people and their simple cheesemaking, to the invasion of Britain by the Romans and the changes in cheese tradition they brought, to the Middle Ages where the Benedictine and Cisterine monks made cheese in their abbeys, to the changes (including market demand shifts due to the population reduction) brought by the bubonic plague, to the Tudors (according to Queen Elizabeth I, "a meal of bread, cheese, and beer constitutes the perfect food"), to the Cheese War of 1766 (yes really), to the Industrial Revolution, the advent of food and drug regulations (did you know Double Gloucester used to contain hydrochloric acid and red lead?), World War 2 rations, up to the Great (British) Cheese Renaissance of the 1980s which brought craft cheesemaking back to life in the UK.
Author Ned Palmer is both a professional cheesemonger (who is almost comically passionate about cheese - "I remember in my early days as a monger feeling drunk with power, wanting to wash every cheese in the cellar") and an excellent storyteller and accessible writer. Sometimes these microhistories get so bogged down in dull details, but this one is compulsively readable.
Ned is also rather annoyingly cool. Not only is he a professional craft cheesemonger and author (peak hipster culture), his wife is the novelist Imogen Robertson, and their friend Todd makes Gorwyfd Caerphilly (a cheese so good it gave the author an epiphany and made him become a cheesemonger), and Todd is married to Jess, who happens to be the PR manager of Stonehenge. I want to be part of this friendgroup.
This book goes into various detailed processes of cheesemaking throughout history, which is quite fascinating. Interestingly, cheesemaking is rather like winemaking - in that the terroir (the unique characteristics of the land and soil) is critical to creation of a particular cheese and can't really be replicated anywhere else.
I also really appreciate he continually refers back to the significant contributions women have made to the cheesemaking industry (so many of these microhistories focus on men's contributions simply because those are better-recorded).
Also, I was delighted to learn that in Britain during WW2, when meat, dairy, and sugar were rationed (most people getting only enough cheese per week to spread on a cracker or two - an amount so small it was commonly called "mousetrap cheese"), vegetarians actually got extra cheese rations in lieu of their meat rations. Admittedly it was generally what was referred to as "Government Cheddar" - mass produced, factory made - but still. I'm sure I would have been grateful for my bonus wartime cheese.
Conclusions:
The book is beautifully researched, the information and anecdotes relayed with passion and humour. It's exactly the sort of microhistory of which I've become so fond. I highly recommend you try to seek out the cheeses (or, similar ones at least) he showcases in each chapter when discussing a particular historical era - it was really fun to eat along with the book, making it a fully multisensory experience.
One more thing. A collection of amusing cheese-related quotes for which I refuse to provide any context:
"This will not, by the way, be the last time in this book that you hear about the role of the black arts in cheesemaking."
"And if you happened to forget your axe, you could always beat your enemies to death with your packed lunch."
"We know this because of an instance of cheese piracy."
"William was actually guarding his own cheese, and so is probably the only recorded instance of death by cheese-related friendly fire."
"The mob made off with the cheese, thus carrying out the first recorded act of cheese river piracy (though not the last).
"William Heaps (an 1838 cheese convict)
"Eating a Renegade Monk is a bit like being dumped by a big wave."
This is the story of Britain told through cheese- as written by a cheesemonger.
From Neolithic people and their simple cheesemaking, to the invasion of Britain by the Romans and the changes in cheese tradition they brought, to the Middle Ages where the Benedictine and Cisterine monks made cheese in their abbeys, to the changes (including market demand shifts due to the population reduction) brought by the bubonic plague, to the Tudors (according to Queen Elizabeth I, "a meal of bread, cheese, and beer constitutes the perfect food"), to the Cheese War of 1766 (yes really), to the Industrial Revolution, the advent of food and drug regulations (did you know Double Gloucester used to contain hydrochloric acid and red lead?), World War 2 rations, up to the Great (British) Cheese Renaissance of the 1980s which brought craft cheesemaking back to life in the UK.
Author Ned Palmer is both a professional cheesemonger (who is almost comically passionate about cheese - "I remember in my early days as a monger feeling drunk with power, wanting to wash every cheese in the cellar") and an excellent storyteller and accessible writer. Sometimes these microhistories get so bogged down in dull details, but this one is compulsively readable.
Ned is also rather annoyingly cool. Not only is he a professional craft cheesemonger and author (peak hipster culture), his wife is the novelist Imogen Robertson, and their friend Todd makes Gorwyfd Caerphilly (a cheese so good it gave the author an epiphany and made him become a cheesemonger), and Todd is married to Jess, who happens to be the PR manager of Stonehenge. I want to be part of this friendgroup.
This book goes into various detailed processes of cheesemaking throughout history, which is quite fascinating. Interestingly, cheesemaking is rather like winemaking - in that the terroir (the unique characteristics of the land and soil) is critical to creation of a particular cheese and can't really be replicated anywhere else.
I also really appreciate he continually refers back to the significant contributions women have made to the cheesemaking industry (so many of these microhistories focus on men's contributions simply because those are better-recorded).
Also, I was delighted to learn that in Britain during WW2, when meat, dairy, and sugar were rationed (most people getting only enough cheese per week to spread on a cracker or two - an amount so small it was commonly called "mousetrap cheese"), vegetarians actually got extra cheese rations in lieu of their meat rations. Admittedly it was generally what was referred to as "Government Cheddar" - mass produced, factory made - but still. I'm sure I would have been grateful for my bonus wartime cheese.
Conclusions:
The book is beautifully researched, the information and anecdotes relayed with passion and humour. It's exactly the sort of microhistory of which I've become so fond. I highly recommend you try to seek out the cheeses (or, similar ones at least) he showcases in each chapter when discussing a particular historical era - it was really fun to eat along with the book, making it a fully multisensory experience.
One more thing. A collection of amusing cheese-related quotes for which I refuse to provide any context:
"This will not, by the way, be the last time in this book that you hear about the role of the black arts in cheesemaking."
"And if you happened to forget your axe, you could always beat your enemies to death with your packed lunch."
"We know this because of an instance of cheese piracy."
"William was actually guarding his own cheese, and so is probably the only recorded instance of death by cheese-related friendly fire."
"The mob made off with the cheese, thus carrying out the first recorded act of cheese river piracy (though not the last).
"William Heaps (an 1838 cheese convict)
"Eating a Renegade Monk is a bit like being dumped by a big wave."
Read
July 30, 2022Now it looks likely our next PM will be someone given to unsettling rants about national preferences in cheese, what better time to explore Britain's history through that lens? Though Truss will be disappointed that even Mrs Beeton only put seven British cheeses in her selection of 20, and awarded Parmesan the crown. A disgrace! Albeit maybe not so much of a disgrace as the notion of a 21st century country which still somehow just about counts as a major world economy being run by someone for whom even an emblematic Victorian is an unpatriotic backslider. Still, let us turn from our nation's ongoing descent into risible hellhole status to the far happier notion of cheese. Ned Palmer started out in the field working at Borough Market and then Neal's Yard Dairy, but here travels everywhere from remote farms of significant cheesemakers to the archives, where among other things he is unable to find the evidence for the oft-made claim about Cheshire cheese being mentioned in Domesday. There's plenty he does find, though, and even more he can infer from a combination of evidence and experience. Have you ever wondered what sort of cheese the Cyclops was making in the Odyssey? Somehow I never had, but was delighted all the same when from historical, practical and textual evidence, Palmer establishes that it is very much not beyond all conjecture; indeed, he makes a solid case for its being something much like Manchego. You might point out that, wherever exactly Polyphemus' isle was, it almost certainly wasn't British, so why is that here? Because, while Palmer has set himself quite a task ("I'll recount the stories of how these cheeses came to be, why they were popular at that time, how they might have tasted or looked, who made them, who ate them, what their lives might have been like, and how they and their cheeses were shaped by the currents of history, religion, war plague, supermarkets and the Milk Marketing Board."), he can't resist an interesting digression. And besides, the story of cheese has always been international – even if the idea that it was the Romans who brought it here has now been disproven, with evidence of cheese being manufactured in the British Isles as far back as 4,000 BC – which, for scale, is more than a millennium before there was a single pyramid in Egypt. Hell, it turns out that pyramids and all the other apparatus of settled life may be pretty much by-products of cheese which, alongside beer, is a plausible candidate for why so much of humanity abandoned the nomadic lifestyle, despite the initial decline in health which came with it. Not that this was the only way in which cheese changed us, the archaeological record also suggesting it went ahead of, and encouraged, the mutation enabling adults to cope with dairy more generally. And that's just the physical impact; spiritually, Palmer has found heretical sect the Artotyrites, who replaced the bread in the Mass with cheese – though isn't it just typical of the irretrievable conflict-addicted wretchedness of Christianity that you've got one lot with bread, one with cheese, and nobody who had the sense to combine the two? Plus plenty on the intersection of superstition and witchcraft with cheese - including why the methods for lifting a curse on your cheese might work even if you don't buy into the metaphysics. Throughout, the tone is chatty but never clownish, informed but never pedantic, and while I may disagree on occasional points (personally I do favour Cheddar that takes the roof of your mouth off), Palmer never got my back up. He's as at home with the science bits about mould and bacteria and different milks as the history, and able to bring them back down to earth with descriptions of what the cheese actually tastes like that mean something to me – that might not sound like much, but particularly given my idiosyncratic palate, an awful lot of food writers don't manage it (or else they make basic errors like talking about the 80% of foods whose taste I don't want to think about). Some of the stuff he digs up is probably pretty specific to the cheese fan in terms of whether it's going to be of interest, like why port and stilton have become a standard pairing (clue: it's not about their particularly complementary flavours), but elsewhere, while it still probably wouldn't be an obvious choice of reading for a vegan, there's material with a wider relevance, like the way making cheese was yet another profession where, as it became more professionalised, women were suddenly decided to be incapable of something they'd been doing for ages, not least because otherwise they might have ended up giving men orders, and that would never do. Consider the Cheese War, which I'd never heard of despite going to school next to its Sarajevo, and whose story is painfully relevant in another time of food inflation; consider also the non-capitalised pasteurisation wars, which like the story of weird additives in general can only become more of a terrible warning at a time when food standards and small businesses are both going on the bonfire as part of the eternal quest to find some trace of that glorious Brexit dividend we were promised. And all this in a landscape which, for all that Palmer, writing in 2019, presents it as blossoming after the overthrow of the Milk Marketing Board's hegemony*, was still a long way from what it had been before industrialisation and (in both the literal and general senses) homogenisation. Case in point: the chapter on Stilton, which includes some sterling detective work as regards the cheese's origins, and the holes in the traditional narrative thereof, but which also comes up to the present day (or the pre-Event present, anyway) with the story of a cheesemaker who can't use the protected designation Stilton for the Stilton he makes the traditional way, with unpasteurised milk, because despite the fact that naming system is meant to protect traditional methods, it's locked to the use of pasteurised milk, which only came in a few decades back, and the only people who could change that are the manufacturers, who by definition all make the modernised version.
*Which, of course, in turn screwed dairy farmers, as he acknowledges, pointing out that there was really no need for the organisation not to be able to help both them and cheese farmers except that somehow that's always the way bureaucracy seems to go, isn't it?
*Which, of course, in turn screwed dairy farmers, as he acknowledges, pointing out that there was really no need for the organisation not to be able to help both them and cheese farmers except that somehow that's always the way bureaucracy seems to go, isn't it?
February 9, 2021
Bought this for my dad for Christmas but as I haven't been able to see him thought I'd read it myself and I have to say it is a delight. It's like an ode to cheese, the passion the author feels seeping through every page, rind and mould.
I'd say it's a good book even if you don't like cheese because it goes through a bit of a history of the British isles independently to that (and then links it back to cheese). It feels like a cheese museum display but on paper - taking you on a journey through the ages. The guide at the back is also really helpful as a bit of a summary of some of the postmodern farmhouse cheeses that can be found up and down the country and also the distinctions between different cheese types. The latter was well explained in the book but I found it a little hard to commit it to memory so that will be a useful point of reference. It was also interesting to read about the myths around the dangers of unpasteurised cheese.
I can't wait to get out to some local cheesemongers once lockdown is lifted and put my new found knowledge to use!
I'd say it's a good book even if you don't like cheese because it goes through a bit of a history of the British isles independently to that (and then links it back to cheese). It feels like a cheese museum display but on paper - taking you on a journey through the ages. The guide at the back is also really helpful as a bit of a summary of some of the postmodern farmhouse cheeses that can be found up and down the country and also the distinctions between different cheese types. The latter was well explained in the book but I found it a little hard to commit it to memory so that will be a useful point of reference. It was also interesting to read about the myths around the dangers of unpasteurised cheese.
I can't wait to get out to some local cheesemongers once lockdown is lifted and put my new found knowledge to use!
December 1, 2020
On one level, a fascinating historical journey through cheese making and cheeses in the whole British Isles. On another level a travelogue of visits to cheese makers. On another, a journey of experience as the author learnt more about cheese.
Yet, this is also an account of the people who work at making the best artisan cheese.
Farming practices as they evolved are travelled through with an explanation of how they have changed over the years and what has changed them.
All this is covered plus the challenges and impacts on British cheeses, their styles, tastes and from a cheese eaters point of view where to get them.
It sounds dull? Some have complained it is too detailed? Not in the slightest, on either count.....for me, at least. A fascinating book which I will come back to again if only to remind myself of the cheeses covered when I'm looking for them.
Thanks, Ned Palmer for a great read!!
Yet, this is also an account of the people who work at making the best artisan cheese.
Farming practices as they evolved are travelled through with an explanation of how they have changed over the years and what has changed them.
All this is covered plus the challenges and impacts on British cheeses, their styles, tastes and from a cheese eaters point of view where to get them.
It sounds dull? Some have complained it is too detailed? Not in the slightest, on either count.....for me, at least. A fascinating book which I will come back to again if only to remind myself of the cheeses covered when I'm looking for them.
Thanks, Ned Palmer for a great read!!
August 14, 2021
A mouth-watering love poem to British cheeses and their makers, wherein we learn much about the different ways in which cheeses are made, and how many factors go into their making. A historical perspective is entwined with a personal journey and visits to contemporary cheese makers. The history is unashamedly cheese-centred; “the first months [of WWII] were called the Phoney War, but there was nothing phoney about its effect on the cheese industry…”.
The love for the process, the places, especially the people, and over everything the cheese is evident in every page. I came away from reading it each time wanting to eat more cheese. And I’m looking forward to visiting my local food market today where many of the cheeses described here are sold.
Blessed.
The love for the process, the places, especially the people, and over everything the cheese is evident in every page. I came away from reading it each time wanting to eat more cheese. And I’m looking forward to visiting my local food market today where many of the cheeses described here are sold.
Blessed.
November 8, 2020
I enjoyed this meandering account of cheese history so, so much. Full of the weird, the wonderful and the downright surreal, this is just the kind of social history I love. I also liked how personal it was - Palmer weaves his own enthusiasm, love for cheesemaking and fascination with the subject through the factual parts, making this feel warm and chatty as well as informative. It’s funny, it’s much more interesting than you’re expecting, and it’s made me want to try about sixty kinds of cheese that I can’t get hold of and probably can’t afford. It’s also nice to know that the world of British cheesemakers is just as full of obsessive eccentrics as you hope it would be.
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March 1, 2022The problem with this book was how hungry it made me! Not to mention how angry it made me at the bureaucratic short-sightedness that nearly destroyed our cheese industry. Went to Gloucestershire to see cheese being made, single Gloucester. Wonderful. I liked the link made between types of cheese with different times, and tales of cheese makers and stubborn folk sticking to their guns. Quite a bit of historic sexism going on, with the 20th C the most misogynistic.
November 1, 2023
Wonderful! There are lots of misprints in this book, and at times Palmer roves off on a tangent for a while in a way that left me a bit confused and in need of re-reading, but there is so much joy and passion at the heart of this book that all of that can be forgiven. This is a book I see myself going back to for references and insights over and over again, and I had the best time reading it. It's fun and light-hearted, but not afraid of the historical depth that was needed to fully appreciate and understand the importance of cheese and cheese making in Britain and Ireland. An incredible story that I won't shut up about for a fair while, if ever.
December 11, 2020
Genuinely the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a while. I love love love how much Ned Palmer loves cheese, and his nerding out, combined with in depth research makes for such a great read.
I completely loved it. All I wanna do is eat all the cheese now
I completely loved it. All I wanna do is eat all the cheese now
May 21, 2022
This was an incredible and inspiring introduction to the world of British and Irish cheese. The author's enthusiasm was very infectious and his pace of writing kept me continually interested and engaged. Warning: this book will make you hungry. Right, I'm off to the local cheesemongers!
March 16, 2020
This was a nostalgia fest to all the cheeses I have ever loved and which sadly do not love me back. I've barely tasted cheese in years it upsets my stomach so much. But this... what a lovely loving fascinating book. It was an impulse purchase at Xmas and I've only just got round to it as a reward for finishing a project.
December 16, 2020
Made me want to eat more cheese!! At times it could have done with a little editing, especially on the history side as he had a tendency to meander however the book itself is a palatable read :)
December 4, 2021
A cheesy book. Well written, actually had me believing history is all about cheese. Learned a lot.
January 11, 2022
Very enjoyable read, although sometimes it feels a bit too conversational/speculative.
January 20, 2021
Highly readable, lip-smackingly evocative and surprisingly intelligent, told with a wry humour.
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