A CHEESEMONGER’S HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ISLES

Ned Palmer’s illuminating book will appeal to history buffs and cheese junkies alike. Described as the best kind of social history – the kind you can eat – it’s a very timely tome as British cheeses are such a modern success story, winning awards left, right and centre and beating even the French.

His journey starts in 4,000 BC (or BCE as it’s now called, apparently) near Stonehenge, where a re-enactor shows him what the neolithic cheesemaker would have done. The revelation, disovered by scientists, that cheese was made here long before the arrival of the Romans was news of great interest for the cheese history community.

Ned applies his knowledge of neolithic cheese making to the modern world, deciding that Seator’s Orkney Cheese with its mild, delicate flavour would be the closest. He then goes on to uncover the stories of our favourite cheeses such as Cheddar and Wensleydale and of Stilton to more recent innovations such as Irish Cashel Blue and Renegade Monk.

It’s very much a personal journey from someone whose passion began when he spent seven years working at Neal’s Yard dairy. It’s interlaced with cheese-related anecdotes and enough facts to keep the most demanding of curd nerds happy.

Ned covers everything from cheese and witchcraft to cheese and monks and cheese and the law (in 1618 a Welsh Justice of the Peace used cheese to identify the guilty party. If the defendent could not swallow the piece of “enchanted” cheese, they were guilty). A cheesemonger’s map across the inside front cover shows 50 British cheeses and Ned’s journey.

Profile Books, £16.95;

ISBN: 978-1-788-16118-3