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L'atlas pratique des fromages
A Field Guide to Cheese is the ultimate guide to the world of cheese and the only fully illustrated cheese reference. This tour de fromage begins with a history lesson on the creation of cheese, offers a primer of the many types of milks and categories of cheeses, and then leads readers to an encyclopedic survey of over 400 global cheeses. There are cheeses we all love like feta and fontina, Gouda and mozzarella, Pecorino Romano and chèvre—but also rarities like King River Gold, a washed-rind cheese from Australia; Dancing Fern, a raw cow’s-milk cheese from Tennessee; and Danbo, a semisoft, aged cheese from Denmark. Find cheeses that are best for melting, like hushållsost; those that are best served alone, such as bovški sir; and those that are the stinkiest, like Allgäuer Weisslacker. There are cheeses with natural rinds, floral rinds, and soft rinds; curd cheeses; spreadable cheeses; pressed cheeses; whey cheeses; fresh cheeses; and more! A global collection of maps place each cheese to its origin, and readers can take their knowledge even further by reading up on the microbial life of cheese and the science behind our tasting palates. Packed with information, this book is for professional cheesemongers just as much as it is for those with a simple love of cheese.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
About the author
Tristan Sicard
6 books1 followerTristan Sicard is one of the leading cheese experts in France, a journalist, and the former owner of a fromagerie in Lille, France. After many years at the fromagerie, where he worked with cheese makers from all over the world—studying the manufacturing, tasting, origin of products, history, and regulations around the globe—Sicard decided to bring his training as a journalist to his passion for cheese in the hope of sharing his love and expertise with the public.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 3, 2022
Sicard is an lazy mind who simply copied from various text, and most probably the editor organized the cacophony of data and found someone who made the illustrations.
It starts up bad: a school guide to the assumed history of cheese. Incomplete, and Europe centered. This part is completed with a moronic list of facts, such as ”how much” milk a certain cow race is supposed to give. Does the reader wanting to know about Cheese need to know that hay is gathered in bundles, and how much do they weight?
The author also spread the superstitions found among his peers. Page 21. He writes about milk preparation. Hence, at Thermised milk apparently heating the milk up to 57 degrees will destroy harmful bacteria. Because bacteria are well behaved and the bad ones will die at that temperature, and the good ones will thrive. Right. It looks like Sicard's equally smart friends in the Government will start making passports to each individual in the bacterial colonies.
Anyway, Sicard conveniently covers up the political origins of thermised milk: the conflict between the purists who want raw milk, and the government rules who impose sterilization. It's a compromise. And the quality of the milk is based on the same nincompoops that can grade wine well as long as the label on the bottle, and grade the cheapest wine as the best once the labels are off. And the same nincompoops who will taste the difference in Coca Cola once the label has changed.
Pasteurization. The goal is NEVER to neutralize the flavor. The goal is to give the milk bottle a longer shelf life. It is about safety. Not about taste. Is the safety overrated? Maybe. I would like a system based on personal choice, rather than enforced with a gun. Anyway, what this Sicard the clown does not get: the ”more neutral” taste is achieved as in other industries with blending.
Sterilized milk is not impossible to turn into cheese. Because one can bring in the whatever bacteria they need. The same way as with making yogurt out of milk, the same way green cheese is made. Only that requires more qualified workers, and involves more personal responsibility for the producer. Speaking with the producers, many of them working with raw milk will rely on ritual, such as using a band of a magical wood (epicea) for its antibacterial aura. I wonder why don't doctors use that after surgery.
Page 39 goes further in stupidity / misinformation. AOP protects the label from being used. Not the cheese. One can make the exact same cheese. As long as you use a different label, you are fine. See Champagne. A few decades ago, many foamy wines were called Champagne. Today, in the EU, nobody can legally label a bottle Champagne, unless it is made by the cartel which was given the AOP privilege.
Also, AOP implies ”tradition”. In reality, AOP is whatever the monopolistic cartel deems ”traditional” in its fabrication manual. As long as there is unanimity, the manual can be changed at any time.
IGP means an AOP mainly liked by a loosely defined geographical area. In practice that is an AOP with even less restrictions. The mechanism is the same: a governmental commission gives a monopoly to a cartel of manufacturers, most of them industrial manufacturers.
Label Rouge is given to a manufacture that could not qualify to any of the above labels. It is a compensation prize from the government, it is only in France, and in theory it might mean the given manufacturer was making better quality items than the average in that department. In many cases the difference is in the price, and not in the taste. As with clothing brands the quality checks are better, so the buyer is protected from the lowest quality products, and not given an increase in quality.
BIO/ORGANIC means the food, the farm, the processing substances used in the manufacture respect a certain list of restrictions. It says NOTHING about animal welfare, see the countless hours of video proof of animal abuse. Let's take the example of an apple. The apple could receive the BIO label if the producer has paid the label the huge sums to be part of the scam, and if the producer respects certain criteria, say what sort of pesticides they use to spray the trees. The label will still be BIO/ORGANIC if the water below the orchard is polluted, and I know a few orchards right next to the high way, being sprayed 24/7 with what goes out of the exhaust pipe of trucks and buses. In short: this is only a scheme to extract more money from the already impoverished producer, leaving the play field clear for the big corporations with pockets deep enough to play the game.
The first cheese mentioned in this misguided book appears on page 42!!!
The classification is pretty much crap. The first cheese is made out of ”either” goat or sheep's milk. As if there is no difference in taste or color. The first cheese on the next page is made out of cow's milk, but ”this is actually two cheeses”. Right. Excellent classification.
I find it idiotic to classify the cheese alphabetically. It should be made by the milk type, and even more important by region or country.
As mentioned in the first 41 pages, brousse is just one name of a type of cheese produced all over Europe, especially around the Mediterranean. Now, Bryndza is quite common all around Eastern Europe, but that is the AOP, so yes, that is linked to Lesser Poland.
I am surprised how dishonest the author is. Some of the cheeses in this index are made in a region with no notable cheese making tradition, at only one small producer, who might not even keep the recipe constant over the years.
Another aspect that I find dishonest is the inclusion of cheeses that are less than say 50 years old. Once the creator is dead, there isn't anything that would indicate a continuation of the production, say 10 years from now.
The details are also injected to pad the description for irrelevant cheeses: how does the Italian origin from Brazil producing in New Zealand changes the maturation process?
Overall the attached blurb is either useless, as only the last phrase is relevant, the one with the color and taste. The story sometimes makes the Uriah Heep in Sicard shine. Take for example the Reblochon. No, it wasn't a legend. And it wasn't one peasant. And it was about resistance to taxes. So the story is dumbed down.
It starts up bad: a school guide to the assumed history of cheese. Incomplete, and Europe centered. This part is completed with a moronic list of facts, such as ”how much” milk a certain cow race is supposed to give. Does the reader wanting to know about Cheese need to know that hay is gathered in bundles, and how much do they weight?
The author also spread the superstitions found among his peers. Page 21. He writes about milk preparation. Hence, at Thermised milk apparently heating the milk up to 57 degrees will destroy harmful bacteria. Because bacteria are well behaved and the bad ones will die at that temperature, and the good ones will thrive. Right. It looks like Sicard's equally smart friends in the Government will start making passports to each individual in the bacterial colonies.
Anyway, Sicard conveniently covers up the political origins of thermised milk: the conflict between the purists who want raw milk, and the government rules who impose sterilization. It's a compromise. And the quality of the milk is based on the same nincompoops that can grade wine well as long as the label on the bottle, and grade the cheapest wine as the best once the labels are off. And the same nincompoops who will taste the difference in Coca Cola once the label has changed.
Pasteurization. The goal is NEVER to neutralize the flavor. The goal is to give the milk bottle a longer shelf life. It is about safety. Not about taste. Is the safety overrated? Maybe. I would like a system based on personal choice, rather than enforced with a gun. Anyway, what this Sicard the clown does not get: the ”more neutral” taste is achieved as in other industries with blending.
Sterilized milk is not impossible to turn into cheese. Because one can bring in the whatever bacteria they need. The same way as with making yogurt out of milk, the same way green cheese is made. Only that requires more qualified workers, and involves more personal responsibility for the producer. Speaking with the producers, many of them working with raw milk will rely on ritual, such as using a band of a magical wood (epicea) for its antibacterial aura. I wonder why don't doctors use that after surgery.
Page 39 goes further in stupidity / misinformation. AOP protects the label from being used. Not the cheese. One can make the exact same cheese. As long as you use a different label, you are fine. See Champagne. A few decades ago, many foamy wines were called Champagne. Today, in the EU, nobody can legally label a bottle Champagne, unless it is made by the cartel which was given the AOP privilege.
Also, AOP implies ”tradition”. In reality, AOP is whatever the monopolistic cartel deems ”traditional” in its fabrication manual. As long as there is unanimity, the manual can be changed at any time.
IGP means an AOP mainly liked by a loosely defined geographical area. In practice that is an AOP with even less restrictions. The mechanism is the same: a governmental commission gives a monopoly to a cartel of manufacturers, most of them industrial manufacturers.
Label Rouge is given to a manufacture that could not qualify to any of the above labels. It is a compensation prize from the government, it is only in France, and in theory it might mean the given manufacturer was making better quality items than the average in that department. In many cases the difference is in the price, and not in the taste. As with clothing brands the quality checks are better, so the buyer is protected from the lowest quality products, and not given an increase in quality.
BIO/ORGANIC means the food, the farm, the processing substances used in the manufacture respect a certain list of restrictions. It says NOTHING about animal welfare, see the countless hours of video proof of animal abuse. Let's take the example of an apple. The apple could receive the BIO label if the producer has paid the label the huge sums to be part of the scam, and if the producer respects certain criteria, say what sort of pesticides they use to spray the trees. The label will still be BIO/ORGANIC if the water below the orchard is polluted, and I know a few orchards right next to the high way, being sprayed 24/7 with what goes out of the exhaust pipe of trucks and buses. In short: this is only a scheme to extract more money from the already impoverished producer, leaving the play field clear for the big corporations with pockets deep enough to play the game.
The first cheese mentioned in this misguided book appears on page 42!!!
The classification is pretty much crap. The first cheese is made out of ”either” goat or sheep's milk. As if there is no difference in taste or color. The first cheese on the next page is made out of cow's milk, but ”this is actually two cheeses”. Right. Excellent classification.
I find it idiotic to classify the cheese alphabetically. It should be made by the milk type, and even more important by region or country.
As mentioned in the first 41 pages, brousse is just one name of a type of cheese produced all over Europe, especially around the Mediterranean. Now, Bryndza is quite common all around Eastern Europe, but that is the AOP, so yes, that is linked to Lesser Poland.
I am surprised how dishonest the author is. Some of the cheeses in this index are made in a region with no notable cheese making tradition, at only one small producer, who might not even keep the recipe constant over the years.
Another aspect that I find dishonest is the inclusion of cheeses that are less than say 50 years old. Once the creator is dead, there isn't anything that would indicate a continuation of the production, say 10 years from now.
The details are also injected to pad the description for irrelevant cheeses: how does the Italian origin from Brazil producing in New Zealand changes the maturation process?
Overall the attached blurb is either useless, as only the last phrase is relevant, the one with the color and taste. The story sometimes makes the Uriah Heep in Sicard shine. Take for example the Reblochon. No, it wasn't a legend. And it wasn't one peasant. And it was about resistance to taxes. So the story is dumbed down.
March 8, 2021
Most inclusive book about cheese I have ever read. What food or drink to serve with, how to create platters and where different types of cheese originated from.
Highly recommended.
Both of my dogs licked the cover.
Highly recommended.
Both of my dogs licked the cover.
September 10, 2020
Advance copy provided by NetGalley.
For anyone who doesn't know me, I LOVE cheese. I have several books that I have purchased in the past but I love the organization and layout of this book. It starts with a little bit of history and then it breaks it down into the different kind of cheese. Each category (and there are 11) have multiples of cheese underneath. Each comes with a description as well as a visual representation (aka drawing). The best part for me is the countries and territories. We (used to) travel a ton and I am always looking for the local cheeses. This outlines each of the distinct cheese by area. I thought this was a really cool way to do it. The last piece is the tasting and pairing but it also includes a section (with pictures!!) on how to cut each shape of cheese. #MaintainTheWedge My family makes fun of me often for this but it can actually change the experience and can ruin the rest of the cheese for others (I am talking to the people who only eat the middle out of the brie, stop it!!). This is a great reference guide I can see myself using often.
For anyone who doesn't know me, I LOVE cheese. I have several books that I have purchased in the past but I love the organization and layout of this book. It starts with a little bit of history and then it breaks it down into the different kind of cheese. Each category (and there are 11) have multiples of cheese underneath. Each comes with a description as well as a visual representation (aka drawing). The best part for me is the countries and territories. We (used to) travel a ton and I am always looking for the local cheeses. This outlines each of the distinct cheese by area. I thought this was a really cool way to do it. The last piece is the tasting and pairing but it also includes a section (with pictures!!) on how to cut each shape of cheese. #MaintainTheWedge My family makes fun of me often for this but it can actually change the experience and can ruin the rest of the cheese for others (I am talking to the people who only eat the middle out of the brie, stop it!!). This is a great reference guide I can see myself using often.
August 30, 2020
The most important thing to know about this book is that it was originally published in France, and has a very different approach to cheese, or food in general, than you’ll find in the United States, at least in my experience. The author’s assumption is that you have access to a cheesemonger, or some other shop that sells specialty cheeses. The bulk of the book is spent profiling very specific cheeses, frequently those that are made on a single farm or dairy, or in a very small locality. The profiles are interesting, to a point, but they aren’t going to help you sort through the cheese counter at your local grocery store. Much more interesting, in my opinion, were the sections on cheesemaking, and suggestions for cutting, serving, pairing, and describing cheese.
Final verdict: fun to skim, but unless you’re a cheese aficionado with plans to travel based on tasting or acquiring some of these cheeses, I wouldn’t recommend you try to read it straight through.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
Final verdict: fun to skim, but unless you’re a cheese aficionado with plans to travel based on tasting or acquiring some of these cheeses, I wouldn’t recommend you try to read it straight through.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
Read
August 11, 20212021 reads, #55. DID NOT FINISH. Although this coffeetable guide to the world of cheese is exhaustively researched and gorgeously designed, I realized very quickly into my reading of it that I simply don't care very much about the subject, or at least not to the extent of reading this entire oversized book full of teeny, tiny text. (Also, it was hard to take the hundreds upon hundreds of detailed descriptions of specific cheese names seriously, once I learned at the beginning of the book that there are actually only eleven distinct categories of cheese that exist on the planet, and that all these hundreds of "distinct" cheese types actually fit neatly within one of these eleven categories.) It comes strongly recommended to those who are looking to do a deep dive into the subject; but for those like me who are merely curious about a top-level overview, just stick to the Wikipedia page on the subject instead.
November 8, 2020
There is so much information in this book beyond just lists of cheeses; this is a wonderland for cheese fanboys and fangirls everywhere. We get rundowns on the dairy breeds, cheesemaking process, and the eleven families of cheese to prepare us for the main event: the guide, the lists within lists of families and the notable cheeses within them. Following this, we have countries and territories, plus a guide to tastes and pairing, preparing and serving, suggested cheese platters, and how to wrap cheeses. This would make a perfect gift for the cheese nerd in your life, or for yourself if you are that cheese nerd!
#AFieldGuidetoCheese #NetGalley
#AFieldGuidetoCheese #NetGalley
February 14, 2021
Reminded me of the days at Cheese Club in College. Monks made a lot of cheese. A lot of ancient cheese recipes have been saved. Lots of fun history, pictures, explanations, diagrams. Plus all those lovely Greek Cheeses made me happy. Planning another cheese tasting date soon.
September 13, 2024
One of those overview books for a single food item with long history and extreme varieties, such as coffee, wine, and tea. It requires a high level of summative prowess for an author to transform expertise and experience into an easy and enjoyable reading experience for the lay audience. This book did not do a good job. Feels like an organized collection of Wikipedia entries with illustrations, which by the way become tiring and overwhelming as the same style of vector drawings are used throughout the book with no real picture or any fun illustration with personality.
The sub-title is also misleading: How to select, enjoy, and pair the world’s best cheeses. No explicit mention of selection or enjoying, only a couple hard-to-interpret-unless-already-a-connoisseur pages on pairing.
Nevertheless, a few interesting takeaways:
- types of ruminants used in milk making: sheep, goat, cow, buffalo, and even donkey, camel, and yak
- the process of rumination
- types of heat treatment of milk
- cheese making process
- families of cheese, with the majority of the book then laboriously listing out varieties under each, offering a mental map for me to find the few I know of in context (Gouda, pecorino Romano, feta, halloumi, mozzarella, brie, ricotta, blue cheese (which is actually a family of cheeses), asiago, fontina, queso, gruyère, parmigiano reggiano, etc.)
- maps of cheese making regions. France, Spain, and Italy feature many varieties, with other White-majority counties also featured. The omission of the rest of the world is perhaps a result of the author’s bias or oversight
- explaining how microorganisms contribute to the taste of cheese
- pairings, or most interest to me, with tea and fruit juices
The sub-title is also misleading: How to select, enjoy, and pair the world’s best cheeses. No explicit mention of selection or enjoying, only a couple hard-to-interpret-unless-already-a-connoisseur pages on pairing.
Nevertheless, a few interesting takeaways:
- types of ruminants used in milk making: sheep, goat, cow, buffalo, and even donkey, camel, and yak
- the process of rumination
- types of heat treatment of milk
- cheese making process
- families of cheese, with the majority of the book then laboriously listing out varieties under each, offering a mental map for me to find the few I know of in context (Gouda, pecorino Romano, feta, halloumi, mozzarella, brie, ricotta, blue cheese (which is actually a family of cheeses), asiago, fontina, queso, gruyère, parmigiano reggiano, etc.)
- maps of cheese making regions. France, Spain, and Italy feature many varieties, with other White-majority counties also featured. The omission of the rest of the world is perhaps a result of the author’s bias or oversight
- explaining how microorganisms contribute to the taste of cheese
- pairings, or most interest to me, with tea and fruit juices
August 2, 2023
I need someone to eat cheese samples with. 🙏🏻
(Only 4 stars bc other reviews said that some of the information is faulty.)
(Only 4 stars bc other reviews said that some of the information is faulty.)
August 26, 2023
Very organized. Interesting history. Great advice on serving, pairing, and etc.
November 22, 2023
Listen I need to meet my non fiction quota and most memoirs are too depressing. So. Cheese
August 16, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and Artisan for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
A Field Guide to Cheese gives a brief history of cheese, info on the different breeds of cows, sheep, goats, and buffalos that supply most of the milk. Who knew that there is donkey and Yak cheese available? There are drawings and descriptions for 400 different cheeses from around the world.
My favorite sections were the Aromas and Flavors of Cheese, Preparing and Serving, and Taste and Parings. Not sure why this was at the end of the book. I appreciated the section of how to cut different types of cheeses and setting up platters. There are even multiple pages of how to property wrap and store your cheese. Fantastic job by the illustrator Yannis Varoutsikos.
This book makes me want to travel the world and try new cheeses. At the very least, I will bring the book to a local cheese store and try to find some of the mentioned cheeses. This book would be a great addition to any well stocked kitchen.
A comment for NetGalley—I had to read the book solely on your app which is missing some key features vs. Kindle. I couldn’t search or highlight sections to make it easy to reference.
A Field Guide to Cheese gives a brief history of cheese, info on the different breeds of cows, sheep, goats, and buffalos that supply most of the milk. Who knew that there is donkey and Yak cheese available? There are drawings and descriptions for 400 different cheeses from around the world.
My favorite sections were the Aromas and Flavors of Cheese, Preparing and Serving, and Taste and Parings. Not sure why this was at the end of the book. I appreciated the section of how to cut different types of cheeses and setting up platters. There are even multiple pages of how to property wrap and store your cheese. Fantastic job by the illustrator Yannis Varoutsikos.
This book makes me want to travel the world and try new cheeses. At the very least, I will bring the book to a local cheese store and try to find some of the mentioned cheeses. This book would be a great addition to any well stocked kitchen.
A comment for NetGalley—I had to read the book solely on your app which is missing some key features vs. Kindle. I couldn’t search or highlight sections to make it easy to reference.
December 11, 2020
My husband loves cheese. I opened it and there were pictures of the cows the cheese comes from. I was hooked. Several people are getting copies for Christmas. It's that good. Well illustrated, and I do mean with extensive, colorful, realistic illustrations. Lots of background.
July 8, 2021
An interesting book all about cheese. It's literally a field guide, laid out by cheese type (soft to hard). There are so many different variaties of cheese. Great for cheese lovers or those just looking for something unique.
August 23, 2020
Interesting, explanations on how cheeses are made and classified. I would have love a bit more details on paring and more common names of cheeses listed.
January 1, 2021
All the information about cheese anyone would need to know.
February 17, 2021
Very visual presentation of regional maps and other background information. Less comprehensive than World Cheese Book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2021
More than you ever wanted to know about cheese.
October 28, 2021
So cheesy! Answers all my questions about cheese except what to try next!
March 15, 2022
Good for understand the history and makes of cheeses, but not something I'd want to reread.
September 10, 2022
Tantalizing and mouthwatering! Only realized why there was such an emphasis on French cheeses when i saw that it was originally published there.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews