Last updated on December 7, 2016 by Liza Hawkins
This post was inspired by The Whole Fromage by Kathe Lison, who traveled to France in search of its artisanal cheeses. Join From Left to Write on August 22 as we discuss The Whole Fromage. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.
“Cheese, glorious, cheese!”
Where do I remember this from… Broadway? Community theater? A movie?
Oh no. It’s better than that, especially if you grew up in the ’80s. Feast your eyes on this little number and let the nostalgia roll in:
Wasn’t that fun? “Cheese, glorious, cheese!” (Get it?)
In all seriousness though, our current From Left to Write book is about cheese – specifically French cheese: The Whole Fromage (Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese), by Kathe Lison.
The whole time I was reading the book, and staring at the cover, all I kept thinking about was the literal meaning of the title. I’ve been a little bit preoccupied with this idea of moving towards a mostly organic diet for our family, and have been mildly obsessed with 100 Days of Real Food and super jealous of the awesome lunchboxes she posts on Facebook for the past two years (although I can’t say that I actually practice the real food concept in its entirety, or even half the time).
Baby steps. My knowledge is building, while my naivety is lessening. This is good.
A couple of weeks ago I made French bread from scratch. Two baguettes, all by hand. Now, that’s REAL.
I, however, am not making weekly loaves of bread like my neighbors, who are actually following a lot of the real food concepts found at 100 Days of Real Food. Homemade granola, all bread from scratch, tortillas by hand, and CHEESE.
That’s right. They’ve been making homemade mozzarella cheese, which seems daunting and terribly difficult, but in reality? It’s not.
So, it’s not French cheese, but this book (and my neighbors + 100 Days of Real Food) have definitely inspired me to try my hand at homemade mozzarella. The “whole” fromage, if you will.
I can use this creamy, salty, made-by-hand cheesy goodness with my from scratch pizza crust (also not difficult!), homemade sauce, and freshly picked basil from my container garden.
Wait a minute…suddenly it appears I’m cooking more “real” than I thought. How’s that for the whole fromage!
Have you ever made cheese from scratch?
Check out the other books I’ve read here.
I have!! Made mozzarella & ricotta with a foodie friend a while back, delicious!
Even blogged about it – http://www.fortuitoushousewife.com/2011/06/cheesy-dreamin.html & http://www.fortuitoushousewife.com/2011/07/f-is-for-friday-fromage-feast.html.
Need to make some again soon – the tomato bounty is screaming to be pressed into a prosciutto, tomato, basil & mozzarella sandwich.
Definitely easier than we thought it would be. Can’t wait to see how your cheese making goes.
@Lollie – Yes! Ricotta too (I hear) is painfully simple to make at home – I’m adding that to my list as well. I’ll check out your posts!
My husband just sung that entire song word for word with the video. I’m glad I missed out on this when I was younger.
LOL – yes, it’s pretty awful, but also SUPER nostalgic for some of us (which apparently includes your husband). 🙂
That video did bring back memories and as I watched, could remember word for word-scary!! Congrats on your bread making and 100 days of Real Food. Looks like an interesting challenge. I made real cheese from yogurt-super easy. If you’d like to try-here you go http://greenwithrenvy.blogspot.com/2013/05/making-cheese-from-yogurt-with.html
Good luck.
Your completely real pizza sounds delicious! I’ve never made cheese but I’m tempted by that, or maybe yogurt would be fun to try.
I’ve never made yogurt either, but my mother made homemade yogurt for my kids – it was sour and creamy and they LOVED it as older babies and toddlers!
I’ve made ricotta before and it’s pretty easy – delicious too! I’ve also made my own cultured butter. I haven’t tried mozzarella yet though.
Cheese is glorious, though! (And I do remember that…)
Making cheese is a challenge I plan on tackling this Fall. I’m still a little frightened.