Rachelle's Reading List, Thursday February 2nd, 2012

When will the craziness end? [WSJ] I swear to you all that this is a fact: I met one of the founders of the Barbarian Group at SXSW and learned that he was living in Brooklyn and making his own cheese. At that very moment, I said to myself: "Rachelle, you have lived to see the apex of the hipster mountain. From this moment on, it will surely be a downhill ride." Like so many other things, I was wrong. What followed this dairy discovery was the parody in taxi cabs of artistinal markets by Brian Williams and a retro diner opening on the Bowery. Today, there is this: The DIY cheese kit. Will the end ever be near? Don't ask me.

A.J. Simone, a 23-year-old account executive at a furniture chain, had tried pickling, canning and bread-making. The next frontier for him: making cheese. "The first time I pressed cheese into a pre-formed mold, it was really satisfying," says Mr. Simone, of Queens, N.Y. He now makes ricotta and dabbles in South Asian paneer. Mozzarella, chèvre, yogurt and butter are joining home-made pickles, preserves, bread and beer as do-it-yourself projects that even nonprofessional cooks will try.Dairy DIYers include connoisseurs of artisanal foods, as well as back-to-basics crafters like Mr. Simone. "In the past it's been more of the elite foodies," [Photo via]