This year you have a gourmet on your gift list? If so, then your holiday shopping just got a little easier. West Coast Cheese Guide by Sasha Davis is a wonderful gift that helps the caseophilus in your life to plunge into the cheeses from the left bank.
The book, published by Portland, OR Timber Press, explores more than 300 handmade cheeses in California, Oregon and Washington. This is an indispensable resource, clearly and concisely written by experts.
The West Coast was a unique and special cheese culture incubator with a deep history of dairy culture and a thriving revival today from north to south.
Father Juniper Cerro, who laid down roots in missions throughout (southern) California, brought with him cows, dairy and Spanish cheeses. In the Bay Area, David Jacks transported his buttery, sleek cheese from Monterrey on a boat to San Francisco in boxes labeled "Jacks, Monterrey", where locals dubbed him "Monterey Jack", one of the original "American original" cheeses.
On the Oregon coast, Tillamook, a schooner bought high-quality coastal dairy factories in the country, demonstrated and launched a strong brand. Small local religions flourished and defined the region in 50 and 60 years.
In 2000, a revival of artisanal cheese occurred across the region, stretching from the bay to the north to Seattle and beyond, as the trifecta for excellent food appeared: the food-savvy population, locomotive atmosphere and farmers worldview. Recent history is fairly well known, and the prosperity of small, artisanal dairy products is gaining recognition at the regional, national and international levels.
This phenomenon hit me home when I saw the maps of the West Coast cheese makers included at the beginning of the book. Small dots abound in names with butter, which fall under the brand with cheese in just a year or two in business. The huge volume of talented cheeses, both new and experienced, experimenting with original recipes, as well as new and intriguing flavors in such a wide area, is simply breathtaking.
Davies & # 39; The book captures the study of cheese in a unique and compelling way. From the very beginning, she says: “It was interesting for me to create a reference tool for people to present a huge amount of cheeses made in three states and to understand how they are similar and different.”
Like most cheeses, Davis did not start in cheese. Rather, the passion for her developed and gradually embraced her professional endeavors. Her adventures of cheeses began as an apprentice apprentice in cheese caves in Artisanal in New York. She ran the caves of the venerable Murray cheese, and in 2006, Davis and her husband set out on a four-month journey to forty American craftsmen, publishing blogs and podcasts at http://cheesebyhand.com.
Moving to Portland in 2008 landed Davis right in the middle of the scene on the west coast. She notes: “I just felt (during the“ Cheese by Hand ”tour) that this would be the next big hand-made region in my hand. It was like this 4 years ago and still, but not in the sense of rivalry, but just like the epicenter. "
“There are some landscape and geographical aspects that make it an interesting region, but,” she notes, “this is also the fastest growing cheese region in terms of the appearance of the newest cheeses.”
The parallels were strong with Vermont, a northeastern Mexican. “When we reached the northwest in our visit, I noticed that there were not only an increasing number of small producers, but a large number produced high-quality cheeses, similar to Vermont,” she says.
“People here were really focused on cheese, some modeled on European cheeses, some on fancy cheese ideas that people wanted,” she notes. “The density of manual production in this area is simply amazing.”
As many authors and experts in raw materials note, it helps that the west coast, especially the north-west, has climate and geography, which contributes to farming, since there are no harsh winters. High rainfall and a temperate climate translate into a longer grazing period, which leads to large grass, which leads to large milk and cheese. Combine this with a growing frame of talented, dedicated cheeses, and this can only lead to incredible things.
So for the perfect gift for the cheese lover in your life, look no further than a copy of The Guide to West Coast Cheese combined with a selection of several presented cheeses from your local cheese shop. Happy holidays will be at all with this memorable gift intended for pleasure and celebration.
