How To Make The Perfect Cheese Board
Perfect for parties, the holidays, and family gatherings - making a cheese board is an entertaining essential!Click here to see some of my favorite little cheese knives, dishes and boards and other essentials.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- Cheeses* You'll want an assortment of at least 3 different cheeses of various textures and flavors.
- Charcuterie Select several dried meats that compliment your cheese flavors, such as Salami, Proscuitto, Soppressata, Capocollo, Mortadella, Chorizo.
- Fruit Dried and/or fresh, use whatever's in season!
- Crackers and/or Bread Include a variety of crackers with different textures that compliment your cheese and charcuterie flavor profiles; and/or sliced baguette or other crusty bread.
- Nuts Choose a few types of nuts that offer both complimenting and contrasting flavors, like candied walnuts and spicy almonds.
- Pickled Things Veggies that are pickled - like beets, asparagus, and cornichons - add great sour notes for balancing the sweetness and saltiness of your other cheese board items.
- Jams and/or Preserves Offer your guests something seasonal and sweet to enjoy with their salt and savory snacks!
- Olives Include both green and black olives, or whatever variety goes best with your cheese and charcuterie selections.
- Seasonal, festive ingredients Make it seasonal! Add seasonal fruit and add festive elements like Panettone, pomegranates, fresh rosemary, or other fresh herbs!
Instructions
- Before starting, visualize how you'd like your cheese board to look to get an idea of your layout. I like to even sketch my designs beforehand!
- Paying attention to varying textures and colors, assemble your cheese board with your cheeses first (*some cheeses should be taken out of the fridge sooner), and then go in and add the charcuterie, fruit, crackers and/or bread.
- Because they are juicy, I recommend including your pickled items and olives in little separate dishes on your cheese board. Add any seasonal elements to your board if using (see above). Next, add in your nuts. You can either place these into little dishes as well or you can pour them directly onto your cheeseboard to fill in holes or any empty spaces. Up to you!
- Include jams and/or preserves in little dishes on your cheese board. Alternatively, if you have mini jars, you can just place the mini jar (opened) on the board with a little spreading knife next to it. Lastly, place fresh rosemary sprigs throughout (just a few) or other fresh herbs for a nice touch of green!
Notes
- I recommend using a lovely board or platter made of wood or slate, or other eye-catching and food-safe material, for presenting your perfect cheese board to your guests.
- Be sure to read serving suggestions on nutrition labels of your ingredients to determine serving amounts. You want to be sure there's plenty to go around!
- See my post for tips on choosing the right cheeses for your cheese board: you can't go wrong with a fun selection of different textures and flavors. Try including one firm cheese, a soft and creamy option, something smoky or spicy, and a cheese that's strong like blue cheese - just be sure to keep this one far from the other cheeses!
- Serve your cheese board with several small knives and utensils so that everyone can dig in together.
- You can assemble your cheese board a few hours before your party by leaving off the crackers and/or bread and covering your cheese board with cling wrap.