This week in the FB Cheese Study Group we are reviewing Cheese History, Descriptions and Categories of cheese as part of the Domain Three of the ACS Body of Knowledge.
I have a list of books that you should incorporate into your study regiment while prepping for the CCP exam. Throughout your Cheese Education, which should take you a lifetime, your list of books will expand as more experts publish.
For purposes of time and level of pertinent information, these are the three books I recommend for Cheese History, Descriptions and Categorizations. Domain 3 comprises about 35% of the exam’s 150 questions (50-53 questions). In your day-to-day cheese career, these books will also prep you for the questions your customers will pose: milk type, pasteurized or raw milk, animal, rennet used and often a fun story. Fun stories that the customer can share to “show off” their own knowledge when serving cheese to friends and family.
World Cheese Book by Juliet Harbutt – this is my first stop for cheese info. Julie categorizes by Country and then breaks each cheese into a “quick and dirty” list of info: Country of Origin, Age, Weight and Shape of whole format, Size of whole format, Milk, Classification (Category) and Producer. Julie also includes a short description, tasting notes and serving suggestions, which will assist you when studying for Domain 10: Cheese Service. Each entry includes photos of the paste, whole format and a map marking the region where the cheese is made. Julie goes in-depth with many of the more “famous” cheeses and are the cheeses more likely to become one of the questions on the exam: Epoisses de Bourgogne AOC (page 64); Mahon DO (page 152); Taleggio PDO (page 136); Monterey Jack (page 286); Stilton PDO (page 192).
Steve Jenkins, the Godfather of Cheese, started the wave of Cheese Education in 1996 with the publication of his James Beard Award-Winning Cheese Primer. Steve is credited with coining the word “Cheesemonger”. Steve has spent most of his career running the cheese program at NYC’s Fairway Markets, introducing New Yorkers to cheeses new to the US and sometimes rarely seen anywhere else in America. The first section of the book is a tutorial to help the customer know what to ask at the cheese counter and basic cheese knowledge for cheese lovers. Steve then takes the reader on an odyssey, country-by-country, of the cheeses you should know and the ones you want to know. He goes in-depth on each country’s iconic cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano (page 228-229); Emmental (page 273); Manchego (page 352); Cheddar (page 298-301).
Liz Thorpe takes a unique look at cheese education using a term she invented while Vice President at Murray’s Cheese: “Gateway Cheeses”. In her The Book of Cheese, she categorizes cheeses by styles and begins her tutorials with an “approachable” cheese, a cheese that embodies the taste profile and textures of a certain style of cheese, and moves on to cheeses that take the lovers of cheese on a journey to more robust, more intense cheeses in the same category (page 9). When Liz and Nathan Aldridge, who became one of my dearest friends, trained us at Murray’s to “go forth and educate” America about cheese, they used “gateway” as the avenue to assist our customers in trying new cheeses. For example if a customer likes Jarlsberg we might want to suggest Pleasant Ridge Reserve as the next step on learning to love Alpine-style cheeses.
Other books that you should add to your cheese library, particularly if taking the CCP exam: click here.
These are the three books that I believe will give you the basics needed to successfully navigate the 35% of questions on the ACS CCP Exam. In addition to these, I also suggest you review my lists of cheeses you should know:
Cheeses to Know at my Google Drive
Cheese Categories at my Google Drive
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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