Patriotic Australians and New Zealanders will be pleased to read that the opening line of the combined entry for both countries states that they ‘are ranked among the top ten cheese-producing countries in the world’. However, any nationalistic pride will be quickly dashed by the realisation of how insignificant Australasian cheeses are in this international miscellany: there are over forty-one specific entries on specific French cheeses alone. Australian cheeses, including Coon, rate only a mention.

The production details for making different types of cheese are fascinating. The time, skill, judgement, and labour needed to produce even a small amount of cheese is extraordinary. Never again will I begrudge shelling out for Roquefort.

This is a volume to savour. Expected topics are well covered – different types of cheese, cheese chemistry, production methods, brief histories of cheese in numerous countries – and also some delightfully arcane entries. According to Homer, the Cyclops Polyphemus made cheese from sheep and goat’s milk. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, France had one major win to soften its humiliations: in a tasting competition proposed by Talleyrand, Brie de Meaux was elected ‘le roi des fromages’.