Bushra Griffith
A cheese board is a great appetizer for any occasion, from a dinner party to a holiday get-together. It's easy to put together, and you can make it as fancy or as simple as you like. You can use a plain cutting board, a large serving platter, or even a tray covered with parchment paper. The key to a good cheese board is variety—offer a range of flavours, textures, colours, and shapes to make it visually interesting and appealing to all tastes. In addition to cheese, you can add meats, crackers, bread, fruits, nuts, jams, honey, and olives. When it comes to serving, cheese knives, appetizer forks, small tongs, toothpicks, and tiny spoons are all useful tools. Let the cheese come to room temperature before serving, and if you're using meats, roll or fold them for presentation and ease of eating.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of cheese varieties | 3-6 |
| Type of cheese | Soft, semi-hard, aged, blue, funky, stinky |
| Cheese temperature | Room temperature |
| Cheese presentation | Sliced, cubed, fanned out, bite-sized slices or wedges |
| Cheese quantity | 2-5 oz. per person |
| Board type | Wooden, plastic, stone, marble, or glass |
| Board shape | Rectangular, circular |
| Board size | Large, extra-large |
| Serving tools | Cheese knives, appetizer forks, small tongs, toothpicks, tiny spoons |
| Accompaniments | Crackers, crostini, bread, fruits, nuts, olives, jams, honey, chocolate |
| Meat | Prosciutto, salami, sausage, deli meat |
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What You'll Learn
Choose a tray or board
When it comes to choosing a tray or board for your cheese, you don't need to buy anything new or fancy. A plain, large, flat board or platter will do—a simple wooden cutting board, serving platter, or even a tray or baking sheet covered with parchment paper can be used as a base. You could also use a circular or rectangular board, made of wood or plastic, or even a few dinner plates.
The main consideration is size: you want to ensure your board is big enough to fit all your cheeses and accompaniments comfortably. If you're serving a large party, you might need an extra-large board or split your cheeses across two boards. If you're serving a cheese plate as an appetizer, plan to have 2-3 oz of cheese per person, and if it's for dinner, plan for 4-5 oz per person.
You can assemble your cheese board ahead of time, and it's recommended to take the cheeses out of the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before serving to allow them to come to room temperature. You can either take the cheeses out and add them to the board later, or you can add them to the board straight from the fridge and cover them with beeswax or plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
Be sure to put out plenty of serving utensils, such as knives, spreaders, and tongs, so your guests can easily serve themselves. You may also want to label the cheeses so your guests know what they're eating.
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Select 3-5 cheeses
When selecting 3-5 cheeses for a cheese platter, it is important to consider variety, taste, and texture. Here are some tips to help you choose:
Choose Familiar and Adventurous Cheeses
Select at least one familiar cheese, such as Gouda or Brie, to cater to guests who prefer classic options. Then, include at least one adventurous cheese for those who enjoy exploring different flavours. This could be a pungent, strong-smelling cheese, which you can place on a separate plate to avoid overpowering the milder cheeses.
Offer Different Textures
Provide a range of textures, such as soft and creamy cheeses like Brie or Camembert, semi-hard cheeses like cheddar or Gouda, and hard, grating-style cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino. This variety ensures your guests can experience the different mouthfeels and flavours that cheese has to offer.
Mix and Match
When picking cheeses, feel free to mix and match from different categories. For example, you could choose a soft goat cheese, a semi-hard aged white cheddar, and a funky blue cheese like Gorgonzola. If you pick two cheeses from one category, ensure they have distinct flavours to keep things interesting.
Consider a Theme
You can make your cheese platter more creative by choosing a theme. For instance, you could focus on cheeses from a specific region, such as the United States, France, or Italy. Alternatively, you could stick to seasonal produce, such as fresh goat cheese, chives, and pickled asparagus in the spring, or berries, honey, and Brie in the summer.
Quantity Guidelines
As a general rule, plan for 1-3 ounces of each cheese per guest, depending on the context of your gathering. If serving cheese as a hors d'oeuvre, aim for 1-2 ounces per person. If serving it as an after-dinner course, 1-1.5 ounces per person will suffice. Adjust the quantities if you are serving other appetizers or if cheese is the main focus of the meal.
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Add accompaniments
When it comes to accompaniments, the options are endless. You can add crackers, crostini, bread, or baguette slices. If you want to offer more than one type of cracker, opt for varieties that differ in size, shape, or texture, such as round crackers and long cracker sticks or pita chips and crostini. Crackers with nuts, seeds, and whole grains are a great choice, too.
You can also add fruits, such as dried fruits, and vegetables. If you're serving fruits with a cheese plate as an appetizer, plan to have 2-3 oz of cheese per person. If you're including a lot of accompaniments, your guests will likely eat less cheese, so you can plan for a smaller quantity. If the cheese plate is for dinner, load it up with fruits and veggies, and plan for 4-5 oz of cheese per person.
Nuts, olives, jams, honey, and spreads are also great additions. If you're serving olives with pits, consider placing a small bowl nearby for the pits. You can also offer pickled peppers or tapenade. If you want to add meat, thin slices of prosciutto or sausage can be added to the tray, or you can serve the tray with rolls or bread slices so your guests can make sandwiches.
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Prepare the cheese
Preparing the cheese is an important part of creating a cheese board. You should plan for 2-4 oz of cheese per person, depending on the number of accompaniments and the appetite of your guests. For a large party, three to five cheeses should be plenty, but you can include more varieties if you are serving a smaller group.
When selecting your cheeses, you can choose a theme, such as "goat's milk" or "Alpine-style", or select a range of contrasting cheeses. Consider your audience: if your guests are adventurous eaters, you might include pungent, washed-rind cheeses or strong blue cheeses like Gorgonzola, Stilton, Roquefort, or Cambozola. If you're catering to a crowd with milder tastes, crowd-pleasers like good-quality goat cheese, Gruyère, and mild, milky brie are sure to be a hit.
You can keep some cheeses whole, slice others, or cut them into cubes. Soft cheeses like brie and goat cheese can be served as they are, while harder cheeses like cheddar and Parmesan are easier for guests to manage if they are sliced or cubed. You can also use a fork to create large chunks of blue cheese and Parmesan. If you are preparing your cheese board in advance, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before serving for the best flavour.
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Arrange the tray
To arrange the cheese tray, you can follow these steps:
Firstly, select a board or tray that is large enough to fit all your ingredients comfortably. You can use a plain wooden cutting board, a serving platter, or even a tray covered with parchment paper. If you have one, a dedicated cheese board is ideal, but it is not necessary.
Next, decide on your cheeses. It is recommended to have three to five different types of cheese to offer a variety of flavours and textures. You can include soft cheeses like brie and goat cheese, semi-hard cheeses like cheddar, and aged cheeses like parmesan. If serving a large group, you can include five to six cheeses. For a meat and cheese tray, harder sliced cheeses like cheddar or Swiss are better as they don't stick together and can be easily picked up with tongs.
Now, place your cheeses on the board. You can serve them whole or cut them into slices, cubes, or wedges. If serving whole, provide cheese knives so guests can slice as desired. For harder cheeses, slicing or cubing them beforehand makes it easier for guests to take a piece without having to saw through the cheese.
Once the cheeses are in place, fill in the gaps with other ingredients. This can include crackers, crostini, or toasted baguette slices. Fan these out along the edges of the tray to make them easily accessible. Add some bowls of jams, mustards, olives, or cherries to create anchor points on the board. You can also include nuts, dried fruits, and fresh fruits like grapes or berries to add colour and texture.
Finally, garnish your tray with herbs like rosemary or basil, and tuck in some forks, spreaders, or small tongs for serving. You can also add some extra bowls of crackers or bread on the side if you wish.
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Frequently asked questions
You can use as many different kinds of cheeses as you like, but five to six varieties should be plenty. Include at least one soft cheese, such as goat cheese or brie, and one hard cheese, such as cheddar or parmesan. You can also add meats, crackers, crostini, fruits, jams, honey, nuts, and olives.
The harder, sliced cheeses, such as cheddar or Swiss, work best for cheese trays because they don't stick together and can be easily picked up with tongs. You can also provide butter knives, cocktail forks, cocktail picks, or toothpicks for your guests to use.
If you are serving the cheese tray as an appetizer, plan for 2-3 oz. of cheese per person. If you are serving a lot of accompaniments, your guests will likely eat less cheese. If the cheese tray is for dinner, plan for 4-5 oz. of cheese per person.
