The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese

The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese is the first reference book of its kind and a must-have for even the most casual foodie library.

Jeffrey P. Roberts lavishes loving attention on the growing local food and farmstead movement in what is fast becoming a national trend.

This fully illustrated encyclopedia of contemporary artisan cheeses and cheese makers will not only be a mainstay in any cookery and cuisine library guiding consumers, retailers, restaurateurs, and food professionals to the full breadth and unparalleled quality of American artisan foods, it will be the source of many a fabulous food adventure.

Organized by region and state, the Atlas highlights more than three hundred fifty of the best small-scale cheeses produced from cow, sheep, and goat milk in the United States today. It provides the most complete overview of what is to be had nationwide - shippable, attainable, delectable.

"The American cheese revolution is in full swing. Cheese makers are sprouting up faster than you can say 'cheese,' and American cheeses are crowding out imports on cheese shelves across America. This makes the timing just right for Jeff Roberts’s comprehensive Atlas of American Artisan Cheese. Chockfull of charming cheese maker stories and explanations of the cheeses they make, the Atlas of American Artisan Cheese provides us with an indispensable road map to American cheeses and helps us navigate the ever-growing collection of artisan cheeses made from California to Maine." - Laura Werlin, author of The All American Cheese

Each entry describes a cheese maker, its products, availability, location, and even details on the cheese making processes. The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese captures Americas local genius for artisan cheese: its capacity for adaptation, experimentation, and innovation, while following old-world artisanship. The book is destined to become a classic resource and reference for food lovers and cooks alike.

 About the author:

Jeffrey P. Roberts lives in Montpelier, Vermont, and works in the areas of agriculture and food policy, conservation, and the environment. During his career, Jeff was a meteorologist, historian, and museum curator. At the University of Pennsylvania, he was director of development at the Morris Arboretum and the Associate Dean for Development and Planning at the School of Veterinary Medicine. In 1995, he became the Vice President for External Affairs at the Vermont Land Trust.

As a co-founder and principal consultant to the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont, he is responsible for development of international initiatives, public education programs, and marketing. For the US National Park Service, he is researching, photographing, and writing Stewardship Begins with People, a prototype compendium of national parks and their unique products.

Jeff is active in Slow Food USA as a director and treasurer of the national board and a Northeast Regional Governor. He co-chaired "Artisan Cheeses of America" at Cheese 2001 and 2003 and the US presence at Salone del Gusto 2002 and 2004. He is one of organizers of Slow Food USA's American Raw Milk Cheese Presidium. Jeff is a frequent speaker on artisan cheese, sustainable agriculture, and the working landscape. He serves as a director of the Vermont Arts Council and previously was on the Vermont Fresh Network board.

The Power of Reading

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture.
Just get people to stop reading them. 

 

- Ray Bradbury

Quote of the Day

All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity. Haunted by wrong turns and roads not taken, we pursue images perceived as new but whose providence dates to the dim dramas of childhood, which are themselves but ripples of consequence echoing down the generations. - William Faulkner

Image by Garnett Wren

Three Sieves of Socrates

One day, the old, wise Socrates walked down the street when all of a sudden an agitated man run up to him yelling: "Socrates, Socrates! I have to tell you something about your friend! You will not believe what I just heard!"

"Hold it right there," Socrates interrupted him. "The story you're about to tell me... did you let it go through the three sieves?"

"Three sieves?" asked the astonished man. "What three sieves, Socrates?"

"Three sieves, my good man. Three sieves. Let's try it," said Socrates.

"The first sieve is the one of truth. Did you examine whether what you were about to tell me was true?" asked the philosopher.

"Well, no, not really. I just overheard the story and was in a hurry to tell you..." said the man.

"Ah! Well, then you must have used the second sieve, the sieve of good?" asked Socrates. "Is it something good that you are about to tell me?"

"Hm, no... on the contrary, my dear Socrates," answered the man.

"Hmmm" the wise man said. "Let us use the third sieve then, the sieve of necessity. Is it absolutely necessary for you to tell me what you are so exited about?"

"Now that I think of it... No, it's not necessary at all," said the man.

"Well," Socrates said with a smile "If the story you are about to tell me isn't true, good, or necessary, just forget it and don't bother me with it anymore."

Sources of the story and the image unknown but greatly appreciated

Just Two Words

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. 

After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to see the master. "It has been ten years," said the master. "What are the two words you would like to utter?"

"Bed... hard..." said the monk. "I see," replied the master.

Ten years later, the monk returned to the master's office. "It has been ten more years," said the master. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"

"Food... stinks..." said the monk. "I see," replied the master.

Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the master who asked, "What are your two words now, after these ten years?"

"I... quit!" said the monk. "Well, I can see why," replied the master. "All you ever do is complain."

Some people drift through life never learning anything at all. At times life may seem to be a difficult journey and some people master it better than others. One may wonder if they have particular talents, or more luck than others, but their secret is quite simple. One's circumstances are only a frame that holds the canvas, but each of makes a more or less conscious decision about the painting that appears before us.

Many people live in a state of denial and self-deception. They either refuse to accept what is, or create a distorted vision of their own situation.

The very first step to happiness, however, is to accept what is. This does not mean that one has to resign oneself to one's circumstances. But by simply accepting the reality for what it is, we are able to make some changes.

By accepting that things are the way they are we simply open our minds to new possibilities. Acceptance helps reduce resistance to change and liberates inner potential for growth.

We might not always like where we are or even hate everything that our lives may have become. But acceptance is necessary if we want to change our condition: I am in a mess and unless I do something about it, I am destined to fall even deeper. Unless this shift in our minds happens, nothing will ever change.

This is a good starting point. The bed is hard and one may not like it at all and not even be able to do much about it this very moment, but instead of wasting time on contemplating how bad things are, one should shift the attention to one's own potential.

Instead of repeating over and over that "Life sucks" one should say "I accept". But waiting for another ten years makes no sense at all. So why not say "Change now" and work towards a better, more fulfilled life.

By Dominique Allmon

 

Dominique Allmon©2011 

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated

Nothing Lasts Forever...

Transience is the force of time that makes a ghost of every experience. There was never a dawn, regardless how beautiful or promising, that did not grow into a noontime. There was never a noon that did not fall into afternoon. There was never an afternoon that did not fade toward evening. There never was a day yet that did not get buried in the graveyard of the night. In this way transience makes a ghost out of everything that happens to us. - John O'Donohue in "Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom"

The Magical Tree

There is an old parable about a poor man who wandered in the woods reflecting upon his many troubles. Exhausted from walking he stopped to take a rest and reclined against a tree. He did not know that this was a magical tree that would instantly grant anyone who came in contact with it all their wishes no matter how grand they were.

The man was exhausted and thirsty and wished he had something to drink. Instantly a cup of cool water was in his hand. Shocked, he looked at the water and did not quite know what to do with it. But he was too thirsty to waste it. He decided that the water was safe and drank it enjoying every single sip.

His thirst satisfied, the men realized that he was very hungry. Indeed, he did not even remember when was the last time he had a meal and wished for something to eat. An opulent meal appeared before him. Astonished, but too hungry to reject the delicacies he began to eat thinking in disbelief: "This really is very strange. There must be some kind of magic because my wishes were granted on the spot. What if I wanted something big? I never had a home... I wish for a beautiful house," he said out loud. And sooner than he could even finish the sentence, a neat home appeared before him.

A huge smile crossed his face and he wished for servants to take care of the house. When they appeared he realized that he wasn't dreaming. Things just materialized out of nowhere. He had somehow been blessed with an incredible power. 

Now that he had a house, he wished for a beautiful, loving, clever woman to share his good fortune. Almost instantly a beautiful woman appeared and smiled at him.

"Wait a minute, this must be an illusion," he said to the woman. "I'm not this lucky. I must be dreaming or something. This cannot possibly be happening to me."

As he uttered this words, everything vanished as quickly as it appeared before him. He shook his head and said, "I knew it! This could not have been real," and then walked away thinking about his many troubles...

165 Years of Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Castle

 Happy Birthday Smithsonian!

Exactly 165 years ago today, legislation establishing the Smithsonian Institution was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President James K. Polk.

From today’s perspective, it seems like nothing extraordinary to accept a generous bequest from a little-known Englishman named James Smithson and create an institution in his name. But from the perspective of that era, the founding of the Smithsonian Institution was a very controversial step - one that reflected the battle over states’ rights versus a federal government that led in part to the Civil War.

English scientist James Smithson died in 1829 and left his estate to his nephew, with a curious clause stating that if his nephew died without heirs, the estate would go to the people of the United States to found in the City of Washington, under the name of Smithsonian Institution, an establishment “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”

Smithson’s nephew died without heirs in 1835 so the clause went into effect, immediately engendering controversy.

Then-President Andrew Jackson did not think he had constitutional authority to accept the gift, so he referred it to the US Congress for action.

The powerful South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun objected to acceptance of the bequest from the outset. Known for his thunderous oratory, on February 25, 1836, he argued, “We accept a fund from a foreigner, and would … enlarge our grant of power derived from the States of this Union… Can you show me a word that goes to invest us with such a power?” He continued, it was “beneath (US) dignity to accept presents from anyone.”

Calhoun and other southern legislators sought to limit the reach of the federal government. They believed there was no constitutional authority for a national organization and its creation would set a dangerous precedent.

Northern legislators, led by former President John Quincy Adams, now in the House of Representatives, favored a strong federal government and supported creating a national institution with Smithson’s bequest.

Adams, chairman of the Congressional select committee to determine what to do about the bequest, maintained that the endowment could have far-reaching consequences for the young country and advocated applying the money toward scientific research, especially astronomy.

The committee’s House Report 181 urged that the bequest be “faithfully carried into effect” so that the Congress would meet its moral obligations. Adams’ group prevailed, and on July 1, 1836, the Congress passed legislation authorizing the President to pursue the bequest.

Another decade would pass before the bequest wended its way through the British Court of Chancery and the US Congress decided what to do with it. Adams remained ever vigilant, believing that he must protect the bequest from charlatans, “as from a rattlesnake’s fang, the fund and its income, forever from being wasted and dilapidated in bounties to feed the hunger or fatten the leaden idleness of mountebank projectors and shallow worthless pretenders to science.” And some southern congressmen even converted to the Smithsonian camp during the debates.

In 1836 South Carolina Senator William Campbell Preston argued in that if the US accepted Smithson’s bequest, it violated states’ rights and “every whippersnapper vagabond … might think it proper to have his name distinguished in the same way.” But by the time the Institution was founded in 1846, he became a strong advocate for the Smithsonian and served on its Board of Regents from 1846 to 1852.

Today, Smithsonian is the world's largest museum complex and research organization, comprising nineteen different museums and nine research centers.

Article source Smithsonian Institution

Mitsouko - The Fragrance of Mystery and Romance

The legendary perfume Mitsouko was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919 at the end of the Great War, a time of great fascination with the Japanese culture and aesthetics. 

The creation of Mitsouko was inspired by the heroine of Claude Farrère's novel "La bataille", a story of an impossible love between Mitsouko - a wife of Japanese Admiral Togo - and a British officer. The story takes place in 1905, during the war between Russia and Japan. Both men go to war, and Mitsouko, hiding her feelings with dignity, waits for the outcome of the battle to discover which of the two men will come back to her and be her companion.

Mitsouko is a mysterious fragrance that does not simply reveal its beauty to everyone. The opening is long, like a play of all beautiful notes, and, of course, this fragrance is not for ordinary day use. On the skin it sounds as if it starts from far away, without any allusion to its intensity and sensual side. 

Mitsouko is one of the well known aromas of chypre olfactory group with cool top notes and oak moss in the base. But it also has a note of a juicy peach, which gives a clear and quite gourmand nuance. It features bergamot, peach, jasmine, may rose, spices such as cinnamon, oak moss, vetiver, and wood. The fragrance is exuberant, unusual and very elegant. It is neither too sweet, nor too heavy, well balanced and never overwhelming. Eau de Toilette is a bit more aggressive, while Eau de Perfume is warmer and nicer. The full richness of the composition, however, is revealed only in the perfume concentration.  

Mitsouko is said to herald the end of World War I. Because of the shortage of glass bottles at the end of the war, this perfume was marketed in the bottle of its predecessor, the L'Heure Bleue which was created in 1912. Mitsouko is sometimes considered to be the warm and much more cheerful counterpart of the melancholic L'Heure Bleue.

How Mushrooms Can Clean Up Radioactive Contamination

The mushroom cloud by Peter Kuran

Eight-step clean-up plan by Paul Stamets

Many people have written me and asked more or less the same question: "What would you do to help heal the Japanese landscape around the failing nuclear reactors?"

The enormity and unprecedented nature of this combined natural and human-made disaster will require a massive and completely novel approach to management and remediation. And with this comes a never before seen opportunity for collaboration, research and wisdom.

The nuclear fallout will make continued human habitation in close proximity to the reactors untenable. The earthquake and tsunami created enormous debris fields near the nuclear reactors. Since much of this debris is wood, and many fungi useful in mycoremediation are wood decomposers and build the foundation of forest ecosystems, I have the following suggestions:

• Evacuate the region around the reactors.
• Establish a high-level, diversified remediation team including foresters, mycologists, nuclear and radiation experts, government officials, and citizens.
• Establish a fenced off Nuclear Forest Recovery Zone.
• Chip the wood debris from the destroyed buildings and trees and spread throughout areas suffering from high levels of radioactive contamination.
• Mulch the landscape with the chipped wood debris to a minimum depth of 12-24 inches.
• Plant native deciduous and conifer trees, along with hyper-accumulating mycorrhizal mushrooms, particularly Gomphidius glutinosus, Craterellus tubaeformis, and Laccaria amethystina (all native to pines). G. glutinosus has been reported to absorb – via the mycelium – and concentrate radioactive Cesium 137 more than 10,000-fold over ambient background levels. Many other mycorrhizal mushroom species also hyper-accumulate.
• Wait until mushrooms form and then harvest them under Radioactive HAZMAT protocols.
• Continuously remove the mushrooms, which have now concentrated the radioactivity, particularly Cesium 137, to an incinerator. Burning the mushroom will result in radioactive ash. This ash can be further refined and the resulting concentrates vitrified (placed into glass) or stored using other state-of-the-art storage technologies.

By sampling other mushroom-forming fungi for their selective ability to hyper-accumulate radioactivity, we can learn a great deal while helping the ecosystem recover. Not only will some mushroom species hyper-accumulate radioactive compounds, but research has also shown that some mycorrhizal fungi bind and sequester radioactive elements so they remain immobilized for extended periods of time. Surprisingly, we learned from the Chernobyl disaster that many species of melanin-producing fungi have their growth stimulated by radiation.

The knowledge gained through this collaborative process would not only benefit the areas affected by the current crisis, but would also help with preparedness and future remediation responses.

How long would this remediation effort take? I have no clear idea but suggest this may require decades. However, a forested national park could emerge - The Nuclear Forest Recovery Zone - and eventually benefit future generations with its many ecological and cultural attributes.

I do not know of any other practical remedy. I do know that we have an unprecedented opportunity to work together toward solutions that make sense.

For references, please consult Paul's latest book, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World or his website www.fungi.com. 

How to Heal Candida Naturally

Clear fungal infections and stay candida free for life

Many people complain about declining health and number of recurrent disparate symptoms for which there seem to be no explanation. The ailments are often dismissed as psychosomatic or treated with antibiotics - a practice that only worsens the overall condition of a patient. A thorough examination, however, may show that a person suffers from candidiasis - a fungal infection caused by number of Candida species, most commonly by Candida albicans. Candidiasis infections range from superficial, such as skin infections which are relatively easy to cure, to poly-systemic mycosis that can be life threatening if not diagnosed and medicated properly.

Candida albicans together with many other microorganisms constitutes the flora which colonizes our internal and external bodily surfaces soon after birth. Our health and well being depend on a balance between various microorganisms, especially the balance between the good and the harmful microorganisms in the intestines. Researchers identified about 400 different species of microflora that can live in the gut. Most of these organisms are transient and occur in small numbers.

In healthy people Candida albicans remains non-invasive. However, when the balance of the intestinal flora is damaged due to poor diet, toxins, use of laxatives, medication with antibiotics, or stress, the balance between the health promoting lacto- and bifidobacteria and the harmful organisms normally present in the intestines, is disturbed. The beneficial organisms die out while pathogens proliferate. With the decrease of the protective friendly flora our system is open to invasion and colonization by harmful opportunistic organisms including Candida albicans. With the increased numbers, the normally harmless microorganisms begin to cause harm in the body.

The resulting imbalance leads to many ailments including:

• digestive disorders 
• insufficient nutrient absorption 
• recurrent infections due to poorly functioning immune system 
• inflammation 
• hormonal imbalance 
• skin ailments and allergies
• mental and emotional disorders

Some health conditions, such as hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, diabetes, intestinal toxicity, and chronic stress, allow candida overgrowth. These conditions have to be addressed if one wants to cure Candida and avoid new Candida infections in the future. 

Candida albicans is a single cell dimorphic organism. It can change its morphology from the non-invasive sugar-fermenting yeast to mycelial, rhizoids producing invasive mold. In its invasive form Candida albicans can penetrate the gastrointestinal mucosa, thus breaking the boundary between the digestive tract and the rest of the body. It enters the blood stream and infests other organs of the body. Moreover, it releases antigenic material and toxic by-products of its own metabolism into the body of a host. Researchers identified 79 toxins produced by Candida. The immune system reacts frantically by producing antibodies to all the toxins. This indiscriminate reaction leads to hypersensitivity that characterizes poly-systemic chronic candidiasis. An infected person becomes sensitive to scents and odors, feels dizzy and wakes up in the morning feeling "inebriated".

Diagnosis includes several tests of stool cultures and a blood test, as well as a very reliable organic acid urine test. Once positive diagnosis has been made, a patient is given anti fungal medication. Unfortunately, fungicides are either ineffective or harmful to the liver and many people turn to alternative therapies. A successful healing strategy involves destruction of harmful organisms, detoxification, reconstruction of the mucosa, and restoration of the immune system.

A patient has to follow strict anti-candida diet in order to "starve" Candida. Since yeasts are able to ferment dietary sugar, sugar promotes the growth of yeast and has to be avoided in all its forms (saccharose, glucose, lactose, maltose, and fructose). Refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta, should also be eliminated from the diet. Alcohol, vinegar, and stimulants such as coffee and soda should be avoided and replaced with purified water. Patients are advised not to consume any processed foods as they may contain sugar and other substances detrimental to health. Complex carbohydrates, non-starchy vegetables, lean meat and fish should be consumed instead. Foods such as garlic, non-pasteurized lactic acid fermented sauerkraut, virgin coconut oil, foods with high fiber content, and natural, sugar-free organic yogurt with live cultures, are beneficial. Yeast- and lactose-free nutritional supplements should support healthy diet. Supplements are to be taken to destroy the candida overgrowth, repopulate the intestinal tract with beneficial organisms, and to restore gastrointestinal health and the immune system.

 

Supplements with Candida healing properties:

• Caprylic acid
• Clove oil
• Colloidal silver
• Enzymes, especially Cellulase and Hemicellulase
• Mastic gum
• Grapefruit seed extract
• Olive leaf extract
• Oil of oregano
• Propolis
• Pau d'arco
• Tea tree oil applied topically (to heal athlete's foot or nail fungus)

 
Supplements to restore the gastrointestinal tract:

• Probiotics
• Digestive enzymes
• Fiber
• Omega-3 essential fatty acids
• Alpha Lipoic Acid
• CoQ 10
• L-Glutamine
• Phosphatidyl choline
• Chromium polynicotinate
• Vanadium sulfate
• Bioflavonids, especially Quercetine
• Betaine HCL

 
Supplements to support immune system:

• Colostrum
• L-Arginine
• Organic germanium
• Plant sterols
• Probiotics
• Reishi mushroom extract
• Vitamins A, B complex, C, and E

A word about mushrooms

It is often wrongly assumed, that consumption of mushrooms will worsen candida. This reasoning uses simple generalization and species analogy in which fungus supposedly nourishes fungus. It has to be mentioned that Candida albicans, both as yeast and in its mycelin form, is a different species than mushrooms such as reishi. The popular belief is that by consuming mushrooms one is feeding candida and causing it to grow. It is however forgotten that candida cannot ferment and digest other fungus or mushrooms. It does not feed on mushrooms. It thrives on sugar. And while the Candida overgrowth is a condition that has to be addressed, medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, shiitake, and maitake have been used for centuries to detoxify and strengthen the body and to restore the immune system. Some medicinal mushrooms contain compounds that show amazingly strong anti-fungal activity and can be safely used to curtail the Candida infection. 

  

Candida die off reactions 

As I mentioned before, the goal of an Anti-Candida program is to destroy the yeast overgrowth, especially the Candida albicans in its mycelial form. Depending on a person's physical condition and the stage of Candida, one may experience mild to a more severe reactions that are known as the Herxheimer reaction. As the Candida dies rapidly after anti fungal herbs and supplements have been introduced into the system, it releases large amount of toxins. This leads to a toxic overload. The immune system and the detoxification pathways in the body are overwhelmed in already weakened patient. One may experience symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, joint and muscle pain, skin rush. It is important to continue the Anti-Candida program and support the system with a lighter diet, purified water and plenty of rest. It may be necessary to reduce the dose of the anti-fungal one is taking, but one should never be tempted to stop the program. The preliminary symptoms clear as soon as the endotoxins have been cleared from the body.  

The anti fungal therapy may seem very complex, but the protocols have to be followed consequently and with determination. It is possible to naturally restore the balance of microorganisms in the body and this takes time. With a little help, the body is able to reactivate its own healing mechanisms. 

To support the healing process detoxify your environment and avoid contact with harmful chemicals. Moderate physical activity and relaxation will help you stay fit and reduce the stress that is perpetuating your condition. Find an experienced health practitioner and join a support group. Your self-discipline and perseverance will pay off and you will be able to enjoy healthy, symptom-free life again. 

By Dominique Allmon  

*This information is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease. Please, consult your health care provider before commencing self-medication.

How to Heal Candida Naturally by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.