Home Cheese Making in Australia by Valerie Pearson

Home Cheese Making in Australia by Valerie Pearson (images appears courtesy of the author)

Turophile: noun  tu·ro·phile \ˈtu̇r-ə-ˌfī(-ə)l, ˈtyu̇r-\ According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a connoisseur of cheese or a cheese fancier is known as a Turophile. Apparently, the term comes from an irregular formation of the Greek word for cheese, tyros, coupled with the English word, phile, which means 'lover', and was first adopted circa 1938. ​

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Are you a Turophile? Have you always wanted to make cheese at home? Imagine being taken by the hand and guided through the process by a fellow Turophile, an expert at that, who has been making cheese for a quarter of a century. That would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

Allow me to introduce you to Valerie Pearson, author of a new book titled Home Cheese Making in Australia. Valerie's cheese making journey began over 25 years ago when she was living on a farm in Pennsylvania. At the time, she was already growing her own food and using animals for milk and fibre. This became ever more important when two of her children were diagnosed with chemical sensitivity.

With an over-supply of goat's milk, Valerie started making cheese at the suggestion of a local Amish woman. After a successful career and a move back to Australia, Valerie turned her passion into a business, Green Living Australia. She spends her time travelling around the country teaching people the joys of making cheese, pickles and preserves. Through her website, Valerie also supplies all the ingredients and tools needed to make cheese.

Home Cheese Making in Australia, Valerie's first book, is a comprehensive guide to the basic art and science of making small batches of brie, camembert and hard cheeses in your own kitchen. She explains the differences between fresh unripened cheese, hard cheese, stretched curd cheese, eye cheese, white mould cheese, blue mould cheese and washed rind cheese. Explanations are also provided on milk, lactose, milk lipids, milk protein, goat's milk, sheep's milk, milk PH, raw milk, the pasteurisation process, UHT, homogenisation, and starter cultures.

In clear text with accompanying photographs, the basic steps of cheese making are outlined in the second part of the book. Part three is devoted to the recipes - of which there are plenty. In simple, step-by-step instructions, Valerie outlines the ingredients and utensils required, and then takes the home cook through every stage of the recipe. 

This is an excellent reference book for Turophiles, as well as expert and amateur cooks who would like to dip into the art of making cheese at home. 

​Home Cheese Making in Australia by Valerie Pearson, $39.95, Pearson Family Trust. Thank you kindly to Valerie for giving me the opportunity to showcase and review her book.