Home Cheese Making in Australia by Valerie Pearson
Cheese making is a wonderful adventure and very rewarding. Much like people who wish to make their own bread, grow their own vegetables or make their own wines and beers, many cheese makers know that you cannot replace the quality of handmade cheeses with the mass produced supermarket cheeses available today. Plus, you can make various boutique cheeses at home which aren’t readily available at the store. Additionally, the importance of eating foods without chemical additives, artificial colourings and preservatives is growing, as the awareness of the negative effects of these non-food additives increases. As with other foods, when you make your own cheeses you control the ingredients and can guarantee that you are eating pure, whole foods and not some man made synthetic product that you really should not be putting into your body in the first place.
While there is a specific science to cheese making, it is also an art form and a craft. The more cheeses you make, the better you will get at it. Once you have mastered the basics, you can begin to experiment and create your own specialty cheeses to suit your personal tastes. Hundreds of different cheeses have been developed across the world over centuries by artisans who have added their own personal magic to the craft. These cheese makers have contributed to the creation of an incredibly rich culture of cheese making, benefiting both the cheese maker and the cheese consumer. You too can create your own cheeses in your kitchen with minimal equipment for everyday consumption and special occasions.
Home Cheese Making in Australia is available for purchase through Green Living Australia and most other book retailers.
Sugar Free Home Preserving by Valerie Pearson
Sugar free home preserving is centred around the idea of reducing the amount of sugar in our diets. The more we study food science, the more we realise that sugar is not so good for us and that we must limit our sugar intake. However, that does not mean that we cannot enjoy the same delicious foods that we have become accustomed too. In fact, we can make those same foods without sugar by using natural alternative sweeteners or foregoing sweeteners altogether.
Join me as I share my experience with making low and no sugar jams, conserves, fruit butters and curds using alternative sweeteners such as honey or xylitol. I have also included some bonus recipes for preserving whole fruits as well as some classic recipes such as apple sauce and quince paste without the use of sugar.
Sugar Free Home Preserving is available for purchase through Green Living Australia and most other book retailers.
Gut Health & Fermented Foods by Valerie Pearson
The art and science of gut health and fermentation: Quark, kimchi, yoghurt, kefir, kombucha and more. More than ever, we need to understand the relationship between our gut, our health and our food. Living in today’s fast-paced, over-processed world, we can forget how important good food and good bacteria are to maintaining our physical and mental wellbeing.
This book focuses on giving you both the history and the science behind fermented foods, and their importance in your diet. It covers how fermentation works, providing you with recipes to get you started.
Once you start fermenting, it is important to know how to incorporate these types of foods into your daily life, so ideas are given to help you out in this regard. The goal is to have you make, eat, and love fermented foods. Eat a little every day, change your microbiome, improve your gut health and change your life.