Rating: 
Summary: A worldly whirl
Review: Jenkins' comprehensive "Primer" offers cheese lovers a wonderfully opinionated global guide to everything, beginning with how cheeses are made, how to buy, store, eat and cook, and what wines and accompaniments to choose with each. This includes a list of his favorites and suggestions for cheese boards.
Then comes the world tour - more than 150 pages for France, about 75 for Italy, 25 for Switzerland, 35 for Britain, 25 for Spain, 70 for the U.S., including a tour of regional cheese makers, and somewhat shorter looks at Scandinavia, Germany, the Balkans and Canada. The book concludes with a reference guide to the world's greatest cheeses.
Interspersed are anecdotes, local cheeses to try when visiting and the occasional recipe. A must for cheese lovers.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Even For the Non-Obsessed Reader
Review: Although I love cheese, I apparently do not share the fanatical devotion of some of the author's readers. But I very much enjoyed this book, which dramatically enhanced my knowledge of cheese and provided an insight to an entirely new world. The classifications are very well organized, and the evaluations given are clear and illuminating. I've even gone to my cheese shop to examine the offerings with the book in hand, so reading it has had a great effect on my consumption as well as my knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: What have you got against Steven? This is a GREAT book!
Review: Evidently the reviewer whose words are displayed below has something personal against Steven Jenkins. What's the deal with that? No one in their right mind who knows and loves cheese would ever feel that way about this fabulous book. In any case, be advised that the reviewer below is flat-out wrong on almost all of the errors he cites from the Cheese Primer. I repeat: they do not exist! Not only is the cheese in the picture on page 116 indeed Compte (one of the said reviewer's "favorite" errors), but for it to be msitaken for Grand Cru Emmenthal is not only a careless, but utterly misinformed remark. As for the cheeses the anonymous reviewer (too ashamed to reveal his name!) describes as "boring" and "mundane", their very appeal lies in their ability to intensify and flourish as time goes by. Perhaps someone doesn't have the patience to wait until his cheese have arrived at the appropriate age. When determining the quality of fine cheese, why take the word of an anonymous reviewer rather than someone who ahs obviously worked with cheese for more than 30 years, and has travelled all over the world simply to examine it like Steven Jenkins has?! Perhaps if this reviewer's name were confident enough about his opinions to post his name, one might feel more confidence in his review; also, we Amazon shoppers could judge his credibilty for ourselves. In any case, Steven Jenkins' Cheese Primer, to these eyes (and nose, and most importantly, taste buds)seems to be refreshingly lucid, awesomely comprehenseive and chock-full of fromage jewels from anywhere and everywhere. A good buy!
Rating:
Summary: What have you got against Steven? This is a GREAT book!
Review: Evidently the reviewer whose words are displayed below has something personal against Steven Jenkins. What's the deal with that? No one in their right mind who knows and loves cheese would ever feel that way about this fabulous book. In any case, be advised that the reviewer below is flat-out wrong on almost all of the errors he cites from the Cheese Primer. I repeat: they do not exist! Not only is the cheese in the picture on page 116 indeed Compte (one of the said reviewer's "favorite" errors), but for it to be msitaken for Grand Cru Emmenthal is not only a careless, but utterly misinformed remark. As for the cheeses the anonymous reviewer (too ashamed to reveal his name!) describes as "boring" and "mundane", their very appeal lies in their ability to intensify and flourish as time goes by. Perhaps someone doesn't have the patience to wait until his cheese have arrived at the appropriate age. When determining the quality of fine cheese, why take the word of an anonymous reviewer rather than someone who ahs obviously worked with cheese for more than 30 years, and has travelled all over the world simply to examine it like Steven Jenkins has?! Perhaps if this reviewer's name were confident enough about his opinions to post his name, one might feel more confidence in his review; also, we Amazon shoppers could judge his credibilty for ourselves. In any case, Steven Jenkins' Cheese Primer, to these eyes (and nose, and most importantly, taste buds)seems to be refreshingly lucid, awesomely comprehenseive and chock-full of fromage jewels from anywhere and everywhere. A good buy!
Rating:
Summary: Into the World of Fromage
Review: Growing up on waxy American cheese slices, made me repelled by even the mention of cheese. Then a friend who was really into it, took me to a cheese shop where we sampled slice after slice of exotic cheeses from all over the planet. From then on I'm hooked. Cook constantly with the stuff! Cheese please! Jenkings provides us with a good primer on the subject, country by country with his ratings. Started off in Dean and Deluca, where the best of everything is offered in their catalog and online now. For American cheese, try Laura Werlin's excellent book: The New American Cheese, which features recipes with American cheese artisans. If you can, find a cheese shop in your area. Explore and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Into the World of Fromage
Review: Growing up on waxy American cheese slices, made me repelled by even the mention of cheese. Then a friend who was really into it, took me to a cheese shop where we sampled slice after slice of exotic cheeses from all over the planet. From then on I'm hooked. Cook constantly with the stuff! Cheese please! Jenkings provides us with a good primer on the subject, country by country with his ratings. Started off in Dean and Deluca, where the best of everything is offered in their catalog and online now. For American cheese, try Laura Werlin's excellent book: The New American Cheese, which features recipes with American cheese artisans. If you can, find a cheese shop in your area. Explore and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: As a Primer It's Great but It's Not a Bible
Review: I credit this book with opening my eyes to the wide world of cheese. As a true neophyte, I use this book as a starting point whenever I head out to Whole Foods to bring another cheese back to the family (sorry, The Cheese Shop in Beverly Hills is just too darned far). Do keep in mind two things about this book. One, it is a cheese primer, not the bible of all things cheese. Use it to pique your curiousity and to get ideas. Two, taste is subjective and just because a cheese expert likes something does not mean you will (and vice versa). Take Taleggio and Oka. Mr. Jenkins finds Taleggio to be sublime and meaty. I find it to be stinky and bad tasting. Mr. Jenkins finds Oka to be stinky and mediocre. I think it rocks (my wife does find it stinky, though--okay it's a bit stinky but it tastes really good). He's also dismissive of Mimolette while my whole family loves it. Not a ding against Mr. Jenkins, though, because I would not have tried Mimolette if his book had not inspired me to try everything. Just remember to take his subjective opinions with a grain of salt and you will be fine.
Rating:
Summary: To my surprise, I've become transfixed by a cheese book!
Review: I intended to use this book as a reference book -- but I found that I could not put it down! I actually read it cover to cover. The author's descriptions are incredibly seductive and not pretentious in the least. It is amazing how accurately he is able to capture in words something as elusive as the taste of different cheeses. I only wish he had included names of recommended cheese shops in America!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I picked up a copy of Steve Jenkins' Cheese Primer because I have a great interest in the fine cheeses of the world. I thought it would be a good reference to consult whenever I wanted to try something new, or remember something old. But I began reading the introduction and found myself entranced by his writing style. His strong voice, unyielding opinions, and prosaic descriptions make for a thoroughly entertaining read -- AND it's the best cheese reference book around. If you like cheese, or just good writing, or both, buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Comte = very few small holes Emmentaler = lots of big holes
Review: I worked as a cheesemonger for five years, have shopped at Mr. Jenkins counter at Fairway in NYC, and have attended American Cheese Society conferences where he has spoken. When I've heard him speak, he has always admitted that there is incorrect and out of date information in this book - it was published in 1996, and since then, some cheeses that were unavailable in the U.S., or only available in pasteurized versions have become available or additionally available in raw milk versions. For example, on p. 159, he states that Bleu d'Auvergne is only made with pasteurized milk. There are versions now that you can buy in the U.S. made with raw milk and have been for at least five years. It's not a huge problem for a casual reader that there are errors in the book - though some of them are factual, many of them are changes caused by the growth in interest in good cheese in the U.S. Availability is changeable, and we get to eat more delicious treasures because of greater interest in cheeses here in America, which includes the promotion of cheeses by Mr. Jenkins. I've heard that he's working on a second edition, but that was a couple years ago, and a revision of a work like this is certainly a long process. That being said, the picture on p. 116 *is* captioned incorrectly. The text above the picture is about Emmentaler. A wheel of Emmentaler (originally from Bern, a bulging Swiss cheese with holes produced by the action of innocuous bacteria added to the curd in production and a smooth, brushed rind) is identified as a wheel of Comte (a cheese from the Franche-Comte region of France with a few small holes, and a flat, bumpy, natural brown rind, pictured on p. 114). This is obviously an editing mistake. Believe me, your average book editor is not going to be identify cheeses by sight at ten paces as a cheesemonger can. If you turn the book upside down and look closely, you will be able to read the words "Grand Cru" on the top of the cheese. It's Grand Cru Emmentaler. Mr. Jenkins tells us himself, "I'm opinionated about flavor and pull no punches." He is opinionated, and his likes and dislikes come through strongly. Don't decide to dismiss a cheese entirely because he doesn't like it, or accept it just because he loves it. You just can't do that with food. This is a chatty, enjoyable, conversational read, but if you want to learn about cheese, don't just read this book. Read others too, and *most importantly*, go out and meet your local cheesemonger and taste all the different types of cheese you can!
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