Joy of cheese
Take a deep dive into the world of cheese with this online course.
$100
Launching soon. Get notified.
Send the Joy of Cheese digital course as a gift.
$100
Launching soon. Get notified.
Comprehensive online course
Everyone who's enthusiastic about artisan cheese is invited to take a deep dive with me into the world of cheese. At the end, you'll
- have a fundamental and comprehensive understanding of cheese,
- be confident buying and serving it, and
- feel ready to go out and find lots of new cheeses you'll love!
The course has over 25 lessons that you can take any time. The lessons include instructional videos and many extra learning features, such as cheese tasting exercises. The lesson and exercise videos are over eight hours in total length.
The course is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. It's a work of art.
Years ago, I was the cheese buyer and server at the fine dining restaurant Chanterelle in New York City. At this point, Jeremy knows more about cheese than I do. Jeremy's guidance on pairings makes sense, and meshes with what I recommended at the restaurant.
Jeremy asked me to review an early version of the course as a friend. I didn't think I wanted to take an online course about cheese, but it turned out I did! Other online courses I've taken were mandatory training on driving safety and HIPAA compliance, but this course was 100 million times better than those. I've never taken an online course as good as this one.
The lesson videos are fun and very clear, with good photography. I definitely know what the families of cheese are now.
It was nice to do the course with someone else. It's a good social activity.
I used to work as a scientific illustrator, and the 3D animations were well done. I found the cheese science interesting.
All the little bits of extra information, like about the Swiss Cheese Union, broke up the lessons well and added richness.
Even though I have been a cheese lover for decades, this course has given me some new perspectives and new appreciation for a wider variety of cheese, and I have some new favorites that I had not even considered before.
The course is well organized and thorough. The amount of research Jeremy did was incredible. By the end, I felt like I had all the information I needed about cheese.
I've been recommending the course to people I talk to at my food coop when I'm shopping for cheese.
I loved the "field trip" segments of the lessons that showed the cheesemaking. I also liked the sciencey stuff, and the CGI animations were great.
This course is way too much fun! I had to ration my daily exposure, or the course would take over my life.
I'm so enthusiastic about cheese that I've been a member of the American Cheese Society for 15 years and going to the meetings (even though I'm not a professional). I feel like I learn a little about cheese just from exposure at the lectures there. This course was my chance to get the whole through line of the world of cheese.
Also, I'm pleased to report that I am beginning to understand the chemistry, mostly because the basic principles are repeated often enough and in enough different ways for me to catch on. Your course may be my back door to the "take chemistry" item on my bucket list!
I felt like a whole new world opened up for me. Sure, I've always liked cheese, though didn't "over indulge" due to fears of raising my cholesterol numbers and gaining weight. Well, I've now learned the health benefits of cheese; the varied cheese families and ancient history; tips for selecting, pairing and serving; and many ways to use cheese in cooking.
The included summaries will assist my memory of the videos, and the bountiful additional resources are amazing.
Also, as a former radio announcer, I was impressed with Jeremy's speaking voice, smooth as butter (or should I say Brie?)
Jeremy's encouragement can lead all of us to a delicious way to entertain friends -- and find our own joy!
I spent about 60 hours on the course when I was home from college on winter break. That included watching the videos, taking notes on the lessons, doing the flash cards, prepping for and doing the cheese tasting exercises, and trying to make Ricotta.
The engaging nature of the videos reminded me of James Hoffman's YouTube channel on coffee — the videos have a similar feel. But a YouTube channel is more piecemeal, while the cheese course was organized and structured like a fun elective course. It was helpful for getting a wholistic idea of cheese. Also, I really liked the interactive footnotes under the videos. I feel like there is a wealth of information contained in these for anyone that wants to take a deeper dive.
My partner and I prepared a cheese board for her family with drink pairings and accompaniments. The cheese board ended up being quite a hit! Since then, I have started preparing cheese boards at all family gatherings, always referencing notes from the cheese course.
Course outline
There are over 25 lessons, divided into five sections.
1. Understanding cheese
We'll start the course with a simple framework so you'll understand any cheese you encounter.
- Start here
- Why cheese
- Understanding cheese
- How cheese is made
- Major differences
- Smaller differences
- How to taste cheese
2. Families
It's important to know the families of cheese, so the second section of the course is about getting to know them.
- Fresh family
- Coagulation
- Brined family
- Origins of cheese
- Pasta filata family
- Bloomy rind family
- Uncooked pressed family
- Washed curd family
- Milled curd family
- Cooked pressed family
- Washed rind family
- Blue family
3. Practicalities
Feel confident when you're buying and serving cheese.
- Serving
- Pairing
- Buying
- Cooking
- Storing
4. Health
- Health concerns
- Health benefits
We'll summarize what published scientific studies have to say about cheese and health.
5. Keep exploring
Recommendations on how to learn more about cheese and how to stay up to date with the latest happenings.
- Keep learning
- Conclusions
Try this at home
I've included over 20 exercises for you to try at home because a cheese course wouldn't be much fun without tasting cheese.
The cheese and other items you'll need for the tastings will likely be available locally, but I also provide links if you want to order them online. I provide written instructions on everything you'll need to gather for each exercise, the steps to take, and a discussion of what we learned. Each exercise includes a video in which I do the exercise with you.
Most of the exercises are cheese tastings, with an emphasis on comparative tastings (like tasting clothbound Cheddar and vacuum-sealed Cheddar together). There are other hands-on activities too, like identifying aromas and tastes to help with cheese tasting. Some exercises are just for the fun of it; have you ever uncoagulated cheese back to a liquid?
Price
The price of the course is $100, which gets you indefinite access. There are no subscriptions or additional fees. Come back whenever you'd like and use the course as a resource.
Lesson features
The course is designed so you can choose how deeply you want to learn about each topic by using the extra features on the lesson pages.
Video lesson
Each lesson starts with a main lesson video, which gives an overview of the topic. The average length of the videos is 10 minutes. As the video plays, references pop up below the video with extra information about what's being discussed.
Flashcard quizes
Use the online flash cards to quiz yourself.
Lesson summaries
Download a PDF summary of each lesson to print out and refer back to.
Explore cards
There are over 200 explore cards in the course. When you click them, they open up with more details, including curated links to other helpful websites. These cards cover a range of topic areas.
- Art
- Books
- Cheeses
- More details
- FAQ
- Fun facts
- History
- Just for fun
- Recipes
- Resources
- Restaurants
- Science
- Terminology
- Tips
Try this at home
There are over 20 exercises to try in the course. (Not every lesson includes one. Some lessons have more than one.) I lead you through the exercise in a video, and provide written preparation/shopping instructions, steps to take, and discussion about what we learned.
Comments and questions
Each lesson includes a comment section. I love talking about cheese, so please ask questions and take part in discussions with me and other students.
FAQs
Is cheese provided with the course?
Cheese is not included. Instead, I provide written instructions on what you'll need to prepare for each tasting exercise. All the cheese you'll need to get should be available in a cheese shop or grocery store. I always provide links to the items I'm using in case you want to order them online. A couple items you'll probably need to order online to complete the exercise, like rennet when we coagulate milk.
Is this a cheesemaking class?
No, this is a course to understand and enjoy the world of artisan cheese. That said, one of the best ways to learn about cheese is to try making it yourself, so we'll make two cheeses, Ricotta and Mozzarella, together in try-this-at-home exercises.
How long is the course?
That's up to you. I suggest watching the main lesson videos, which total five hours. You can decide what other features and exercises you take advantage of. Of course, the more you do, the more you'll take away from the course.
What if I have a question about cheese?
Each lesson has a comments section where you can post your questions and talk with me and fellow students.
Can I give the course as a gift?
Yes, you can give a gift certificate with an access code for the course. The recipient will receive information about the course and instructions on how to get started.
What is the refund policy?
You can get a refund for any reason within two weeks of when the course is first accessed, either by you or the recipient of a gift certificate (regardless of when the course is purchased).
Still have questions?
Email me at hello@joydemy.com.
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Your instructor
I'm Jeremy Snyder, and I'll be your instructor. For over a decade, I've been exploring the world of artisan cheese, visiting cheesemakers and other cheese professionals in the US and abroad, attending conferences and classes, and reading numerous books and other resources. I was one of over 300 contributors to the Oxford Companion to Cheese, for which I co-wrote the "Families of Cheese" article.
In addition to teaching about cheese, I also produced all the content and programmed this website. The whole course is artisan made, just like the cheese we'll talk about!
Prior to founding joydemy, I worked as an engineer in clean energy research and development. I also professionally produced award-winning multimedia to communicate complex topics clearly and concisely.
I live in the Albany, NY area with my wife. We have two children.