How to create your perfect cheese board
Now making a cheese board in essence is not very difficult, but there are still some tips and tricks that will make your cheeseboard the most successfull one out there. Here’s how to build your perfect cheese platter:
What is in this post?
Wat to serve with a cheese board
It might be one of my favorite snacks to serve during a party. Wether it is Christmas or a birthday or something in between. A cheese board is always delicious and also pretty practical to make. People can make their own choices and pick whatever they like from the board.
I also like to add my own touch. In this case I made small goat cheese sticks to add to the board.
How to build your cheese board
In the basis it is obviously cheese on a chopping board. So how complicated can it be? But making a good cheese board requires some thought behind it. Which cheeses are you going to add, which extra’s are needed and how much cheese do you need per person?
Keep in mind that cheese is pretty creamy overall, so it helps to counter balance that with some fresh flavors. Think about something crunchy like nuts and something sweet like a good chutney or fresh fruits. Of course always pick something that combines well with the cheese.
Take the cheese that you’re going to serve out of the fridge at least half an hour before serving so they can get to room temperature. Especially with soft cheeses like brie or camembert that is essential to bring out the best flavor.
What needs to be on a good cheese board?
What you need for a good cheese board are the following ingredients.
- 4-5 different types of cheese. I like to pick a couple of fresh cheeses like brie or camember, a blue cheese, a fresh cheese and some hard cheeses. How many you choose also depends on how many people you have coming over. I like a firm cheddar and some softer ones like port salut. Also go to your favorite store and ask at the cheese counter what they recommend. If you have a good cheesemonger close by it’s really a good idea to ask for advice. Apparently cheeses can have seasons too so let yourself be informed on what is best at a certain time of year and how to get there.
- If you have a vegan friend come over, it makes sense to also add some vegan cheeses
- For your fresh fruits you can choose red grapes, black berries, blue berries or strawberries. Depending on the season. In this case I added poached pears which are just perfectly good options for this time of year. Or choose any other seasonal fruits you like.
- Extra’s like nuts, some charcuterie, olives
- Various kinds of crackers or bread. I like fig bread to go with the cheese
- Some condiments like chutney or fig jam
- A few good cheese knives
- some small jars to add things in or to.
- Something homemade, like the goat cheese sticks here or a homemade chutney
- If you want you can also add some of your favorite meats as well.
- If you’re also serving bread alongside the cheese board, you can also serve some good extra virgin olive oil with it. So people can dip the bread in the olive oil as well.
How much cheese do you need per person?
A good rule of thumb is to stick to roughly 100 to 150 gram of cheese per person. It also depends largely on what you’ve eaten before. If you’re serving the board after a festive dinner party, you might not need so much cheese. Is it more of a snack during drinks? In that case you probably need more cheese. It’s also a perfect appetizer but in that case you don’t want to overload your guests with lots of cheese. In that case I tend to use a smaller serving platter and give a small selection of cheeses.
What to serve the cheese on?
What you serve your cheeses on is a bit of a personal preference. I like to use a large cheese board and fill it up with – obviously – the cheeses but also with all the other things. If you do not have a big wooden chopping board for this you can use plates or serving platters or whatever works for you. The fun part of the process is to figure out how everything fit together on the platter.
How to make the goat cheese sticks?
Making the goat cheese sticks is pretty simple. I used soup sticks for this. You also need parsley and smoked almonds. The herbs and the almonds are then chopped up in small pieces. You will use this mix to roll the goat cheese in. If the pieces are too large, they won’t stick.
Next you take you’re soft goat cheese and you break a bit off. You massage it a bit in your hands and then wrap it around the stick. Once done roll it carefully through the vegetable and nut mix and you’re done.
It’s best to make these shortly before serving as the sticks might get soft otherwise. You want your sticks to be crunchy and delicious.
What wine to serve with your cheese board?
Which wine you serve with the cheese largely depends on the cheeses that are on the board. I like to serve it with a white wine or a red wine. I tend to lean towards red, but both wines can do equally well with a cheese board. Usually your cheese specialist might have some good suggestions depending on the cheese you’re buying.
Can I prepare the cheese board in advance?
Now here’s a tricky question. Of course you can buy all the cheese and other elements up front but you don’t want everything to sit out for too long. I usually take out all the cheeses and leave them in a plastic wrap until shortly before serving. The elements that are more sturdy like nuts and such I place in little bowls or scatter on the board. But Most of the things like crackers I take out at the last minute to make sure they are as crunchy as can be.
Goat cheese sticks with parsley and almonds
Ingredients
- 8 bread sticks
- 8 slices soft goat cheese
- 50 gr smoked almonds chopped
- 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
- If the breadsticks are very long (and they usually are) break them in two, so you will have 2 sticks for each person.
- Break each slice of soft goat cheese in two and forming it with your fingers wrap it around each end of a bread stick.
- Make sure you have chopped both the almonds and the parsley as small as possible so it will stick to the goat cheese.
- Roll the goat cheese carefully through the parsley/almond mix and serve them on your cheese board.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
