Check out Saxelby Cheesemongers' rules for making a delicious and well-rounded cheese board for your next dinner party, holiday party, or picnic!
- Choose a variety of textures - soft, semi-firm, and hard.
- Include different styles of cheese—fresh, bloomy rind, washed rind, natural rind, and blue are the main categories of cheese. A combination of these styles makes for a varied and interesting cheese board.
- Select cheeses that showcase different milk types. Cow, goat and sheep's milk are the most common, but you might find water buffalo or even yak cheese behind the counter from time to time!
- Arrange your cheeses from mild to strong. Just like planning the progression of a meal or tasting wine, encourage your guests to try the lighter, milder cheeses first and progress toward stronger, richer ones.
- Plan on about 2 ounces of cheese per person total. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it should be just right. If cheese is the main event of your dinner party, you might want to up that to 3 or 4 ounces per person, but in general, 2 ounces is the magic number.
- A cheese plate can have any number of cheeses on it, but we like to stick with odd numbers. 3 to 5 different types of cheese is ideal.
- For garnishes and accompaniments, consider the following categories:
- Bread or crackers
- Fresh or dried fruit
- Nuts or candied nuts
- Charcuterie
- Fresh herbs and flowers
