One of my favourite books in 2019 was A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles, by Ned Palmer. Ned learnt all about cheese whilst working at Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, and is passionate about good quality cheese. The book takes you through the history of cheese making, from Neolithic Britain to the present day. Each chapter tells you about how a carefully chosen cheese (Sleightlett, Spenwood and Wigmore, Milleens, Gorwydd Caerphilly, Aplleby’s Cheshire, Stichelton, Westcombe Cheddar, Hawes Wensleydale, and Lanark Blue) is made, and how that cheese fits in with the history of our cheese.

The book features some of my favourite cheeses, and I’m already trying the ones I don’t know. He’s visited the farms and helped them make different cheeses. Ned has an infectious passion about what these cheesemakers do.

At the end he discusses newer cheeses, and also gives a larger list of some of his favourite cheeses.

I thought that I knew quite a bit about farmhouse cheese. However I now know far more having read this book.

You can buy Ned Palmer’s A Cheesemonger’s History of The British Isles here.