I recently had the pleasure of picking up "The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese" by Jeffrey P. Roberts. It's a wonderful book though I have to admit it took a little while to "grow" on me. I guess it was just not what I was expecting, which is not always a bad thing. With a title like "The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese" I was expecting detailed descriptions of the best cheeses the US has to offer. Instead what I found were one and two page glimpses into 300+ cheese producers with only brief descriptions of the cheeses they produce.
While, at first, I was a little disappointed in the book, I soon became intrigued by these brief essays about the cheesemakers, themselves. Before I knew it I had even pulled out my regular atlas and was envisioning vacations in which I traveled through areas, bouncing from one cheesemaker to the next. What, at first, I took to be the downfall of the book actually became its greatest strength. By not giving me all the information I desired the book fueled in me a need to learn more, to go out and explore and seek out these cheeses and cheesemakers for myself.
The book makes this rather easy for the reader. It is divided into geographical regions and then further broken down into states. Each cheesemaker gets a one to two page essay, many with pictures, and a sidebar that gives all the important facts. Each sidebar relates when the company was established, who the owners are, who the cheesemaker is (if different than the owners), all contact information including website and email address, whether they give tours and when, the types and varieties of cheese they produce, awards they have won, and where you might find their cheeses for purchase.
There is no better place than Vermont to start such a voyage of discovery. There are 34 listings for Vermont, and while attempting to visit all 34 cheesemakers may take quite a few days, one could take 2-3 days to travel the length of Vermont and visit a number of cheesemakers. Not to be missed is the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company. Started in 1984 by Allison Hooper and Bob Reese VBC was really on the forefront of the Artisan cheese movement here in America. Today they produce cheese from both goat and cow's milk along with European style butter and distribute it to chefs all over the nation. As a child growing up in Vermont, I ate more than my share of cheddar from Cabot Creamery and while Cabot is one of the larger cheese producers featured in this book, receiving milk from a number of local dairy farms, they still produce some of the best cheddar the nation has to offer. But don't take my word for it, seek these cheeses out for yourself. Vermont Butter and Cheese and Cabot may be 2 of the larger, better known cheese producers in Vermont but that still leaves 32 more to discover. If Vermont is too far of a trip then check out places closer to home. Most of the states are represented, 48 to be exact, with most of those states have numerous Artisan cheese producers spread across each state. Or if worse comes to worse, use the websites, listed with most cheese producers, to order their products and have them delivered right to your door.
With so many cheese producers featured in this book it is no wonder that Mr. Roberts chose to skip detailed descriptions of the cheeses themselves. It would have to be a massive tome or multi-volume series. Instead he gives the reader a wonderful little guide or "atlas" that gives each individual the knowledge and the opportunity to go out and explore the wonderful world of American artisan cheese for themselves. For me, the biggest question is whether this book belongs on my food reference shelves or in my stack of travel guides.
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