Pour yourself a glass of wine, find a comfortable chair and join me for a deep dive into the world of cheese. Earlier this year, I wrote and narrated 10 lectures on cheese for Audible, and they have just been released. For now, you can download them at no cost and learn something new while you’re driving or on a long walk. Cultured: The Epic Story of Cheese delves into cheese history, cheesemaking, cheese styles, flavor and more. About five hours of delicious and, I hope, entertaining listening, which you should preferably undertake with a cheese board nearby.

What the lectures cover:

• A History of Cheese in Five Slices
  A few course-altering moments in the colorful story of cheese.

• Milk: Where Cheese Begins
  A look at milk—our first source of nourishment—from the cheesemaker’s perspective.

• Cheesemaking in Nine Steps
  You won’t be a cheesemaker after listening, but you’ll have a good grasp of the process.

• Cheese by Style: Ten Types to Know
  Understanding the major styles can help you evaluate a cheese against others in the same category.

• Ten Great Cheesemaking Regions (2 lectures)
  How do landscape, climate and culture shape the kinds of cheeses each region makes?

• The Art of Affinage
  The role of the expert cheese ager in bringing a young cheese to perfect maturity. What goes on in that cave?

• Sharpen Your Sensory Appreciation of Cheese
  What does sensory science tell us about the aromas in cheese, and what techniques can you master to become a more discriminating taster?

• Is Cheese Healthy?
  What nutrition science and epidemiology tell us about the place of cheese in a healthful diet.

• Into the Kitchen: A Culinary Journey with Cheese
  Cheese performance from the cook’s perspective, plus a globe-trotting tour of regional specialties that celebrate cheese.

Here’s the link to download. As you’ll see, Cultured is free if you sign up for a 30-day free trial of Audible. If you cancel your Audible subscription before 30 days, you pay nothing. After that, it’s $7.95 a month but you can cancel at any time. If you do download Cultured and enjoy it, please add a review.