Book Beginning: Pacific Northwest Cheese by Tami Parr

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

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MY BOOK BEGINNING

If you've visited a farmers market lately you have probably come across more than one local cheesemaker selling their wares.

From the author's introduction to Pacific Northwest Cheese: A History by Tami Parr.

Beginning as early as the fifteenth century a succession of European explorers sailed up and down the west coast of North America, searching for a variety of things including the elusive Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting Europe and Asia.

From Chapter 1, "Furs, Cattle, and Empire: English Cheese in the Pacific Northwest."

Tami Parr dug deep in the history of the Pacific Northwest to research her engaging history of regional cheesemaking, from pioneers making fresh cheese while en route on the Oregon Trail, to the renaissance of small-scale cheesemaking in the 60s and 70s, to today's artisanal cheesemaking scene.

As the author of Artisan Cheese of the Pacific Northwest and the creator of the Pacific Northwest cheese project, Parr knows of what she writes and she writes it well. She incorporates the stories of local cheesemakers and industry innovations that bring to life evolution of the cheese business in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

This is a fun and informative history that will please Pacific Northwesterners and foodies farther afield.