Cheese Problems Solved
by P.L.H. McSweeney
The title of this book implies that you have cheese problems. That cheese, in your life, is currently a source of difficulty. That somewhere between the curd and the rind, things have gone wrong.
P.L.H. McSweeney’s 2007 manual is a legitimate reference work for professional cheese producers. It is organized as a series of questions and answers: “Why does my cheese have a gassy texture?” “What causes bitterness in soft-ripened cheeses?” “How do I prevent late blowing in Gouda?”
These are real questions with real answers. The book is 400 pages long.
The reason it became briefly internet-famous is the title, which in isolation sounds like the kind of thing you’d say after a bad week. “I have cheese problems. I need them solved.” The cover design doesn’t help — it’s extremely utilitarian, the kind of thing that sits on a shelf in a dairy science department without apology.
The reviews on Amazon are largely from people who do not make cheese but bought it as a gift, a joke, or simply because they felt it belonged in their lives. A surprising number report reading it cover to cover.