14. The Cheese Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst

BOOK REVIEW: The Cheese Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst

I’m a true blue Malaysian and as most of you know that Malaysians are all-round food lovers. If it’s even imaginarily possible, we try eating 24/7. With novel food concepts popping up such as fusion food, food trucks, visually appealing fine dining with the usage of molecular gastronomy, as well as other foodie dreams, our Malaysian palate has developed to accept a wider array of tastes.

If we can consume Durian, described as stinky and nauseous by some, why not cheese from blue-veined to creamy to oozy varieties? I love my cheeses and this book came in at the point of my life where I started experimenting in the vast world of cheeses.

Once expensive delicacies, cheeses have become more popular than ever and are now easily available from around the world – France, Italy, Spain. But how to choose from the wide variety? Authors of the bestselling The New Food Lover’s Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst provide the essential information the cheese lover needs in one definitive, user-friendly volume.

In addition to more than 500 cheese entries, this book describes:

1.       How a cheese is made.

2.       How to buy, store and serve various cheeses.

3.       What cheeses pair well with different wines, ales and beers.

4.       Tips on cooking with cheese.

For those like me who are the Jerry types from Tom and Jerry, you will be looking forward to cheese-y (pun intended) quotes that proceed each alphabetical entry in the book. Flip through this book while having a meltingly warm garlic and herb cheese fondue with French baguette. Believe me, cheese will have taken on a whole new dimension.