Home Dairy with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Cheese, Yogurt, Butter & More

This is the book I gift to friends just getting started making their own dairy products! I've purchased or borrowed many home dairy-ing books, and this is the one I keep coming back to. It feels written for me! I use raw milk in my creations. The author explains everything, from the science (the how and why) behiind making dairy products, the different types of starter cultures, how ingredients behave and their purposes, essential kitchen equipment, as well as very clear recipes for: butters (such as ghee, compound butter, cultured butter), fermented dairy (yogurt, true buttermilk, kefir, sour cream and more), cheeses (from beginner cheeses like queso blanco, cream cheese, ricotta, mozzarella to more advanced cheeses like cheddar and Parmesan), ice creams, as well as recipes for DIY body care products. Also included are a few cooking recipes utilizing homemade dairy. My favorite is the saag paneer recipe. So delicious! For a general dairy making book, this is the go-to. There are other specialty books out there that cover specific topics more thoroughly...for example, I have huge cheese-making bibles, and a great fermentation book...but this one touches on ALL the basics for a wide variety of dairy products. Step-by-step clear photos and directions really take the mystery out of making your own dairy products. Throughout the book are Portraits, little entertaining glimpses into the backgrounds of a selection of people who are expert dairy-makers. Nice to read while stirring or waiting for the milk to get to temperature. I would recommend this to anyone interested in making their own dairy products, new to it or even someone with experience looking for some new ideas - above any other general dairy books out there. It's fun, it's smart, and it can empower you to take on any dairy project!

This book is very well written and I can tell that the author loves what she does. It has pretty photos of different cheeses, and dairy products throughout the whole book and it is very informative. Ashley English makes sure that the reader has a good understanding about cheesemaking and what equipment is needed in order to successfully make homemade cheese. She even gives tips for making homemade yogurt without a yogurt maker, and how to make hard cheeses with a DIY cheese press if a person doesn't have a real cheese press at home. Although I found this book to be a great resource on making homemade dairy products, I have to admit that I am intimidated by this book. There are some great recipes for simple dairy products, but I feel that some of the cheese recipes are a bit too advanced for the beginner. I will keep this book and build up my confidence to try out the recipes, but I do admit to being overwhelmed with some of the ideas in this book.

If you are like me and wish to get away from all the chemically/pesticide infused processed food that are on the market this book is for you! It covers not only how to make what is within the book it also covers the history and tricks to apply while making whatever dairy you have decided to make from within. I will admit that I have a large supply of tools at my disposal because I have been making homemade foods for a great many years. I mention this because certain tools may be needed to make some of the more advanced items such as a cheese press for hard cheeses. The book does tell alternative ways on how to make items as well such as using a food processor to churn butter (actual butter churns are expensive compared to a mini food processor) so don't think you will need an arsenal of new tools to make items yet be prepared to obtain said items if you wish to do as suggested in some cases within the book (oh fyi in regard to butter, it also stated you can use a mason jar and your muscles as a churn if you don't want added expenses to what you create) .

The information in this book is accurate and complete. The stories about people making their own dairy products are nice. I've made butter and yogurt with almost no effort at all. I love when my friends are shocked that I made my own butter and wonder if I churned it all day. The answer is no, I wouldn't and didn't. Pretty darned easy.

We are lucky enough to be able to get raw milk regularly, so I am very interested in using it! This book has great, detailed instructions for pretty much everything I ever dreamed of doing. I have not tried the aged cheeses yet; I am lacking a "cheese cave" in which to age them. The cultured products are wonderful, though! And so are the "quick" non-aged cheeses. The directions are well-thought-out and nicely illustrated, and the recipes WORK. This paneer recipe is better than the previous ones I've tried, and I love being able to make queso fresco. It's dairying 101, sure- but it's such an excellent introduction to the potential!

So enjoyed this book on home dairy-ing! It is refreshing to those of us who have been making our own butter, yogurt,and cheese to have the cat out of the bag. There is a lot of 'fear' surrounding doing your own fermenting, dairy products, just plain cooking. This book dispels all of that for someone who yearns to explore the underbelly of making all the wonderful things our grandparents made without a big broohaha, they just did it. Corporate food processors have squashed our own buried homemade food spirits. Ashley's book is a page turner to the end and it's only about simple milk, in all its delicious forms, good grief! [...]

I have an Alpine goat that gives us a lot of milk. This book is excellent. I have various ways and recipes for making cheese, yogurt, butter, etc. this book, however, gives you most basic, easy way to make everything with outstanding results. I've given up trying other recipes to hopefully a better or easier recipe. These are the best!