CheeseNet is an interesting Internet oddity: a tongue‐in‐cheek journey through the myriad aspects of cheese. The site contains an index to cheeses from around the world; articles on cheese making, terminology, and history; a column called “Ask Dr Cheese”; poetry and prose about cheese; links to other cheese related sites; a small bibliography; and a chat room called “Cheese Chat.” The site is elegantly designed and easy to navigate. All major links appear prominently on the main page.
The World Cheese Index is the major content of the site. It contains over 100 different types of cheese that are searchable by name, country of origin, consistency, animal, curd process and texture. Complete entries contain information on the origin of a particular cheese, a picture of the cheese, wine suggestions, and fat content. Excellent information; however, there are a large number of incomplete entries and broken image links. Visitors to the site may suggest a cheese for inclusion in the database, and these suggestions seem to be entered into the database with no editing or review. Entries under cheese names such as “Whassup,” “arsearsearsearse,” and “Processed Cheese Spread” abound.
The other sections of the site are more interesting. There are an amazing number of cheese poems, the “Ask Dr Cheese” section is fun, and the links would be helpful for the serious cheese consumer. The authority of this site is extremely doubtful, however, and one has to question the credentials of “top cheesologist Dr Emory K. Cheese.”
The site is a nice distraction, but one would do better to look elsewhere for answers to cheese‐related inquiries. This site is not recommended for libraries.
