Favorite Cheese Books from Celia Sack of Omnivore Books

Omnivore Books in San Francisco is one of only a few bookstores in the US that specialize in cookbooks and books about food. An avid vintage cookbook collector, Celia Sack opened the bookstore in 2008 and a search for “dairy” on her website yields some rare treasures. Sack spends some of her time living in Tomales, near the heart of the artisan cheese region of West Marin. We spoke to her recently to find out about her favorite books on cheese.

The Art of Natural Cheesemaking by David Asher

Asher heads the “Black Sheep School of Cheesemaking” and the subtitle of the book, Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World’s Best Cheeses tells you a lot. The book advocates for non-commercial methods that go one step beyond even many artisanal cheesemakers including the use of natural rennet, raw milk, and avoiding the use of plastic equipment and chemical additives.

River Cottage Handbook No. 16: Cheese & Dairy by Steven Lamb

River Cottage Handbook 16 Cheese & Dairy

According to Sack, “It’s like a field guide, with recipes and cheesemaking instructions.”

Part of the River Cottage series of DIY books coming out of England so it has a very British slant. In addition to discussing dairy, equipment and how to make cheese, it also gets into the ethics of dairy and it includes recipes for using as well as making cheese.

The French Cheese Book by Patrick Rance

Says Sack “Out of print and scarce - thought of as one of the best books on the subject.”

You’ll have to look hard to find used copies of this book which covers the cheeses of France by region. Written in 1989 by a renowned author and cheesemonger; it was based on 6 years of research. Leading French expert on cheese, Pierre Androuët, rated it the best book ever been on French cheese. Says Sack “Out of print and scarce - thought of as one of the best books on the subject.”

Oxford Companion to Cheese edited by Dr. Catherine Donnelly

Considered “the ultimate ultimate reference book” by the New York Times when is was published in 2016. This award-winning book has 855 A-Z entries and covers history, regional styles, purveyors, popular culture references, industry leaders, and true scholarship on cheesemaking including technology, microﬂora and cultures, and pairings and uses in diﬀerent cuisines.

Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin

Says Sack “A cheesemaking & fermentation teacher in Sonoma, this is an excellent intro to the subject.”

A groundbreaking book published in 2011, it’s a comprehensive guide to cheesemaking at home, written by a cooking instructor who worked with leading artisan cheesemakers, it has easy-to-follow instructions for making cheese and dairy items. 80 recipes including mascarpone, queso blanco to cultured products like crème fraîche and yogurt, Irish-Style cheddar, and bloomy blue log chèvre plus 20 recipes for using cheese.

Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maitre Fromager by Max McCalman & David Gibbons

The book is comprised of 22 chapters including topics such as history, raw milk, cheese in restaurants, wine and cheese and 9 chapters on the great artisan cheeses of the world—specifically Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and the US and chapters devoted to cheddars, chevre and “stunning stinkers.” Charts and descriptions of more than 300 cheeses.

Cheese Boards to Share by Thalassa Skinner

Written by one of the founders of Culture magazine and a co-author of Cheese for Dummies, this book capitalizes on or perhaps feeds the Instagram frenzy over cheese boards. The book features 25 different cheese boards each with a different theme, as well as recipes for accompaniments and essential practical information on cheese. Versatile and flexible, each cheese is thoroughly described and suitable alternatives offered.

Anything by Laura Werlin

Cheese author and educator Laura Werlin is author of many books on cheese including two James Beard award winners— Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials: An Insider's Guide to Buying and Serving Cheese (with 50 Recipes), The All American Cheese & Wine Book as well as Mac & Cheese, Please! and Grilled Cheese, Please!