Cheese primers that are a cut above the rest

Q: How can I learn more about cheese?

A: The best way to learn about cheese is from someone who knows. The rising popularity of artisanal cheese has been accompanied by an increase in cheese-related books. One good place to start is "Cheese Essentials," by Laura Werlin (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2007, $24.95). Werlin's first book, "The New American Cheese" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35) is one of the best guides to the renaissance in American cheese-making.

Now she addresses the cheese novice with clear instructions on how to navigate the cheese counter and how to read cheese labels, what are the eight main styles of cheese, and how best to eat and cook with various cheeses (including which melt best). She also includes a helpful list that clusters cheeses progressively by strength.

Eleven years ago, the pioneering cheese monger Steve Jenkins published his authoritative and opinionated "Cheese Primer" (Workman, $16.95), and it is still a standard text, although it does not include cheeses that have become available (often through Jenkins' own efforts) since 1996.

Less detailed, but very useful is last year's "The Murray's Cheese Handbook: A Guide to More Than 300 of the World's Best Cheeses" by Rob Kaufelt (Broadway, $12.95), a pocket-size A to Z from the owner of one of Manhattan's best cheese shops.

Max McCalman is the dean of curriculum and the master "fromager" for Artisanal Premium Cheese, Terrance Brennan's cheese catalog-warehouse-think tank. He and David Gibbons have written two fine books (both Potter, $35), "Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best," an illustrated survey of world cheeses, and "The Cheese Plate," which offers McCalman's advice on serving cheese and pairing it with wine.

As you begin to learn about cheese, you may want to sample ever more specimens. If your local cheesemonger can't help you, these Web sites offer a wide selection of well-tended cheeses that are described in detail: artisanalcheese.com, murrayscheese.com, igourmet.com and zingermans.com. When approaching a new subject of inquiry, it's always helpful to narrow one's focus. So, too, with cheese. Instead of taking on the whole world, start by learning about one region. Or, zero in on a type of cheese — hard, blue, washed-rind, — or on cheeses from one type of milk.