MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A University of Vermont professor has won a James Beard Award for her encyclopedic work, "The Oxford Companion to Cheese".

The book contains over 850 entries related to cheese, including cheese regulations, cheese-making techniques, cheese history and cuisines. The author is Catherine Donnelly, a professor in UVM's Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Donnelly spent four years working on the book.

The James Beard award is named after the late James Beard, a prolific cookbook author, teacher and champion of American cuisine. Donnelly's book was one of two books that won a James Beard award, the other being "Milk Made: A Book about Cheese" by Nick Haddow.