Cheese Slices - Will Studd

A book review by Roberta Muir

Will Studd, arguably Australia’s leading cheese expert, was recently inducted into the Tasting Australia Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievements. A well-deserved honour for the man who has fought tirelessly to improve the quality of both imported cheese and that made in Australia and who at times has seemed the lone voice of reason fighting for Australians’ right to produce and consume cheese made from raw milk. The almost-2-year-long saga of his attempt to import genuine Roquefort (made from unpasteurised milk) in 2002/2003 is just one of the intriguing asides in his new book Cheese Slices.

First and foremost a comprehensive reference book on cheese, from its surmised origins some 14,000 years ago, through its modern production and the breeds involved, purchase, storage and serving information, and detailed descriptions on the classic cheeses of the world, to the industry in Australia today and detailed tasting notes on Australia’s leading artisan cheeses, Cheese Slices is the best overall guide to cheese that I have seen, and the only book to put Australia’s growing specialist cheese industry into a global context.

It is however more than a reference book. Despite the volume of information, there’s a flow to Studd’s writing that makes it eminently readable. The layout no doubt helps, with lots of little break-out boxes of quirky facts (nanny goats were so named because they provided milk for the children of wet nurses in Victorian England) and handy hints (storing feta wrapped in rice paper to keep it moist without losing flavour). And Adrian Lander and Michael Robinson’s very simple photography shows the beauty of cheese as a living food as well as illustrating its traditional production and storage.

Whether you want to know the difference between Brie and Camembert, the similarities between Sbrinz and Parmigiano, what wine to serve with various cheese types or a concise explanation of Europe’s various cheese appellations, you’ll find it in Cheese Slices.

Cheese Slices by Will Studd (Hardie Grant Books, 2007)

ISBN 978 1 74066 550 6