Reviews

Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization by Paul Kindstedt

miraclemarg's review

informative reflective

5.0

Wonderfully informative, and extra kudos to the author for emphasising the role of women in the development, creation, and maintenance of all the many varieties of cheese we know today. 

katiehicks's review against another edition

3.0

 This book was a bit of a roller coaster for me. Chapters would be alternatingly fascinating, if overly-technical, and overly broad to the point of no longer making sense. The organization of this book didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me- it seemed like it was halfway between a strict chronology and a regional breakdown, which meant that, in every chapter there was a lot of repetition of the previous chapters. There were many times I found myself thinking I was literally re-reading a page because whole paragraphs were repeated. There were also times when it seemed like it was going to be a profile of different cheeses- half of one whole chapter is on Cheddar cheese and another on Gouda, for example, but this was also inconsistent. After discussions of the Medieval period, France and Italy and the cheeses which were invented there were hardly mentioned again.

Overall, I was left with the impression that the author is really knowledgeable about cheese science, but less skilled with historical research and writing (which, to be fair- he fully admits to in the introduction). For this reason, the discussion of actual cheese history (how it was made, the likely evolution of flavors and experimentation, etc) worked a lot better than the arguments which seemed to suggest that cheese had a unique place in early Western culture, which to me weren’t totally convincing. I don’t think the author ever successfully argued that cheese was more significant than any other food like bread, wine, oil, etc. I just think early humans just didn’t have a lot of different types of food, and cheese was one of them.

That being said, this book is littered with interesting moments in cheese history and its links to the development of religion in Europe and its seemingly inevitable relationship with economics and the rise of capitalism (really I almost wish the author had just stuck with religion and economics, it seemed to be what he was most interested in and “culture” is much too broad a subject to fully explore in one book anyway- it left the discussions of art, food, and literature feeling like afterthoughts). For example, the chapter linking the spread of cheese with its religious significance in the Sumarian empire was fascinating. The goddess Inanana having a fondness for cheese, which meant that the ruling elite had to make daily offerings to her, which meant that they had to take control of the sheep population, coincidentally also giving them control over the production of wool textiles, which was one of the most profitable industries at the time. Of course, read a different way, this is the story of the importance of wool rather than cheese, but it is still interesting that it led to the creation of writing in order to keep records of production! Also, I was very prepared to be bored during the discussion of early Christianity, but somehow the idea that the bread in the Eucharist being replaced with cheese became so vital. Like, it makes total sense once its explained that the idea likely came from an incorporation of Pagan offerings of cheese to the goddess Cybele (though ironic considering how many pagan traditions ended up as accepted and even important aspects of Christian religious holidays), but it fascinating to think about how such a seemingly small change could cause not only so much internal debate (though, again, maybe not so surprising given that debate over the Eucharist was a major reason for the second Great Schism), but also greatly increased Roman Imperial persecution of early Christians. That being said, I didn’t like how much economic growth was attributed to Protestant (Calvinist) work ethic. To be fair, this isn’t brought up a lot, but I find it very telling that religion is only seen as a contributing factor when talking about Protestant countries (England, Holland, and the U.S), and not, say, France, Italy, or Greece- arguably the most significant cheese-making countries in the West.

All of THAT being said, I appreciate the acknowledgement that, in most of Europe, cheesemaking was traditionally a woman’s craft, and it was only after the Scientific Revolution, during which time cheesemaking was becoming increasingly profitable, that men began to take over the practice and make it more “efficient” (re: profitable)- taking the traditional farm practice and moving it into automated factories. There was a lot of romanticizing of pastoralism throughout the book and critiques of modernity for modernity’s sake. At times it felt more like a personal grudge than anything, but the conclusion that factory food production means that most people are now very disconnected from the food and ignorant of where it comes from and how it is produced, was well made. Again, the moments when religion and economics were overlapping with cheese history were the most effective parts and really should have been the sole focus.

All in all, a very interesting book, but one that could have used more editing and fine-tuning in the writing style.

annknee's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

3.75

I never knew how much I didn't know about cheese until I read this! This was a book gift from a friend who saw it and thought of me. I probably wouldn't have chosen it myself, but read it anyways. 

The author notes that he is not a historian (he's a cheese scientist) and he is attempting to write a history of cheese after he realised how much there was to write. Reading this as a historian, that is really very clear and at times was a little distracting. For non-historians though, this probably wouldn't be an issue. I would love to see this research worked through with interdisciplinary contributors - I think it would be fascinating.

There was lots of information in there (I made notes of lots of cheese quotes!) And fun descriptions. Tge first chapters were more focused on cheese in society whereas the chapters focusing on more modern cheesemakers tended to be more technical, which I found more challenging to read. 

sjgochenour's review

5.0

This book is absolutely brilliant and often hilarious, as when the Punic Wars and Jesus Christ are defined entirely in terms of their impact on cheesemakers. Kindstedt is fascinated by cheese as part of spiritual practice, and a large section of the first part of the book focuses on exactly how the Sumerians appeased the gods via dairy. He does an amazing job of making sense of how the constraints of climate and economics shaped the characteristics of different traditional cheeses. Particularly interesting are the discussions of how the flavors of Alpine cheeses came to develop and how Gouda was designed by Dutch merchants for maximum portability and marketability in the 18th century.

This is also one of the first highly-focused subject histories I've read where the intricate ways in which slavery is threaded through every aspect of modern American history is acknowledged -- he spends a lot of time tracing how not only how slaves in New England made cheese, but how many New Englander fortunes were built on provisioning plantations in the West Indies and the South with dairy products.

nsperry92's review against another edition

5.0

Is this a book an attention-grabbing story about the life of cheese? No. Is it a thought-provoking informative textbook-like read? Yes. Don’t be deterred. I love that this book is what it is. It weaves anthropology, sociology, history, politics, and of course, food science, together. History doesn’t always happen rapidly or in a very interesting way, and I believe that is why some may classify this book as boring. I also think the author made a fair attempt and putting what little pieces we have of the archaeological puzzle together.I may be a bit biased due to my extreme obsession of cheese, but this book is definitely on my list of books to read again (I may even take notes next time).

kpasteka's review against another edition

4.0

If you're looking to understand why France is known for their soft cheeses while Italy is all about those hard grating cheeses this is your book. I enjoyed this book but general familiarity with both Western history and cheese types are necessary to get the most out of this book. Overall a great history that places cheese development and evolution in the larger picture of human development.

ineffablebob's review

informative slow-paced

3.5

The title says it all - this book takes a trip through the history of western civilization and points out where cheese fits in along the way. The cheese is part of the larger impact of agriculture, of course, since you need animals to get the milk to make the cheese. I found it particularly interesting when the author explained how the geography and/or societal restrictions impacted the types of cheese being made - for instance, when highland farmers developed low-salt methods of cheesemaking since it was hard to transport the salt up the mountains.