From the author of Away with Words a deeply hilarious and unexpectedly insightful deep-dive
into a cultural and culinary phenomenon: cheese.Who knew it was possible to enjoy reading about
cheese as much as eating it? Remarkably entertaining deeply insightful and downright
hilarious American Cheese goes far beyond the plastic yellow slices we all know and some love
revealing a community as quirky passionate and creative as the cheese they put into the
world. - Jim Gaffigan comedian actor and New York Times bestselling author of Food: A Love
StoryJoe Berkowitz loves cheese. Or at least he thought he did. After stumbling upon an
artisinal tasting at an upscale cheese shop one Valentine's Day he realized he'd hardly even
scratched the surface. These cheeses were like nothing he had ever tasted-a visceral drug-punch
that reverberated deliciousness-and they were from America. He felt like he was being let in a
great cosmic secret and instantly he was in love. This discovery inspired Joe to embark on the
cheese adventure of a lifetime spending a year exploring the subculture around cheese from
its trenches to its command centers. He dove headfirst into the world of artisan cheese of
premiere makers and mongers cave-dwelling affineurs dairy scientists and restauranteurs. The
journey would take him around the world from the underground cheese caves in Paris to the
mountains of Gruyere leaving no curd unturned all the while cultivating an appreciation for
cheese and its place in society. Joe's journey from amateur to aficionado eventually comes to
mirror the rise of American cheese on the world stage. As he embeds with Team USA at an
international mongering competition and makes cheese in the experimental vats at the Dairy
Research Center in Wisconsin one of the makers he meets along the way gears up to make
America's biggest splash ever at the World Cheese Awards. Through this odyssey of cheese an
unexpected culture of passionate cheesemakers is revealed along with the extraordinary impact
of one delicious dairy product.
