Transforming Rural Life or The Cheese Book

Transforming Rural Life: Dairying Families and Agricultural Change, 1820-1885

Author: Sally Ann McMurry

One of the many changes that fundamentally altered nineteenth-century agrarian life was the shift in the dairy industry from home to factory butter and cheesemaking. In the early nineteenth century virtually all such work took place on the family farm. But after about 1860, production began to move from farms to local "crossroads factories." In Transforming Rural Life Sally McMurry takes a new look at the underlying causes of this development and its implications for the dairying families who were the mainstays of northeastern agriculture. Unlike previous books, which cast this transformation primarily in economic terms, McMurry's work emphasizes the role of social systems, cultural values, material culture, and family dynamics. She argues that a key factor in the change was simply the resistance of women to the burden of home cheesemaking (many households produced thousands of pounds every season). When the technology and economic conditions permitted, the transition to factory production took place quickly - not because farm families made more money, but because taking the milk to factories helped resolve domestic tensions. As a result, patterns of life began to change - freeing women for new tasks, encouraging increased reliance on the market economy and new cash crops, and emphasizing wage work, which in turn affected the reorganization of the domestic economy.

Booknews

One of the many changes that fundamentally altered 19th century agrarian life was the shift in the dairy industry from home to factory butter and cheesemaking when production began to shift to "crossroads factories." McMurry examines the role of social systems, cultural values, material culture, and family dynamics in these changes, arguing that a key factor in the change was simply the resistance of women to the burden of home cheesemaking. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Look this: The Simple Soups Deck or John Barleycorn

The Cheese Book

Author: Jean Par

The Cheese Book Invites you to go on a taste exploration. With over 145 delicious recipes featuring 30 different varieties, you'll discover how cheese can bring a world of taste to your table.

Table of Contents:

	The Company's Coming Story	6
	Foreword	7
	About Cheese	8
	Glossary of Cheese	10
	Appetizers	12
	Breads & Quickbreads	26
	Brunch	31
	Desserts	50
	Lunch	78
	Main Dishes	92
	Salads	123
	Side Dishes	131
	Soups	141
	Measurement Tables	149
	Photo Index	150
	Tip Index	151
	Cheese Index	152
	Recipe Index	153
	Feature Recipe	157
	Mail Order Form	159
	Reader Survey	160