The life of cheese : crafting food and value in America / Heather Paxson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paxson, Heather, 1968-

Series:

California studies in food and culture ; 41.

California studies in food and culture ; v. 41

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cheesemaking--United States.

Cheesemaking.

Cheese industry--United States.

Cheese industry.

Cheese--Social aspects--United States.

Cheese.

Food habits--United States.

Food habits.

Local foods--United States.

Local foods.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (322 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Crafting food and value in America

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Cheese is alive, and alive with meaning. Heather Paxson's beautifully written anthropological study of American artisanal cheesemaking tells the story of how craftwork has become a new source of cultural and economic value for producers as well as consumers. Dairy farmers and artisans inhabit a world in which their colleagues and collaborators are a wild cast of characters, including plants, animals, microorganisms, family members, employees, and customers. As "unfinished" commodities, living products whose qualities are not fully settled, handmade cheeses embody a mix of new and old ideas about taste and value. By exploring the life of cheese, Paxson helps rethink the politics of food, land, and labor today.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. American Artisanal

2. Ecologies of Production

3. Economies of Sentiment

4. Traditions of Invention

5. The Art and Science of Craft

6. Microbiopolitics

7. Place, Taste, and the Promise of Terroir

8. Bellwether

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781784024437

1784024430

9781283646345

128364634X

9780520954021

0520954025

OCLC:

813398570