How to make a cheese board Which board to serve cheese on?

It's hard to find a more versatile and elegant appetizer than a cheese platter. Well composed, it can satisfy even the most demanding taste buds. In addition, it is an excellent base for alcoholic beverages, especially wine. Learn how to pair cheese and cold cuts and which board to serve them on.

Making party snacks can be a tough nut to crack. Adjusting the gastronomic repertoire to the preferences of all participants is not easy. However, there is an appetizer that the vast majority of guests will surely enjoy. I'm talking about a cheese board - spectacular and multifaceted in terms of tastes. Due to their high fat content, cheeses are considered an ideal company for wine or champagne, so it’s all the more worth trying this solution at parties.

Cheese board - how to make the perfect one?

This appetizer can be prepared in many ways. It all depends on what products you have access to. You can use only regional cheeses or create a truly global mosaic of imported products. In many European countries - especially in France, Italy, Switzerland and Portugal - cheese traditions are very rich, which is reflected in the rich taste range. However, Poland also boasts a fairly wide range of local cheese varieties, the potential of which is worth using when putting together a snack board for a party.

Regardless of which option you choose - local or international - there are a few things to keep in mind that are key when putting together a cheese board. Thanks to this, it will not only be exceptionally tasty, but also beautifully presented - skillfully prepared, it can almost be a small work of art. What to look for?

• Colors. The key to creating a cheese board that is pleasing to the eye is to use different colored cheeses. And they can be very diverse - from Mimoletta in a shade of rich orange, through snow-white mozzarella, to blue Roquefort. There are quite a few possibilities!
• Textures – A selection of different cheese textures guarantees a variety of taste sensations. Therefore, it is worth combining cheeses with white mold, which hide a soft, creamy interior, semi-hard, long-maturing cheeses, as well as cheeses with holes and crumbling hard varieties such as mature cheddar or old Amsterdam.
• The degree of spiciness - there should be cheeses of different spiciness on the board so that you can try a lot of flavors, which is especially important for this type of snack. The most spicy cheeses are with blue mold and the addition of peppercorns or chili. Combine them with nutty, slightly spicy ripening and neutral-tasting milk cheeses, such as mozzarella.

A board of cheeses and cold cuts - what, besides cheese, should be on it?

While this is an appetizer in which cheese definitely plays a leading role, it is worth considering other ingredients that will make it richer and provide guests with an even wider range of tastes. Many types of cheeses, especially blue and long-aged ones, have a very intense aroma that is good to interrupt with something. What are the best ingredients for this?

• Cold cuts - Parma ham or Polish Yalowski sausage can be a great addition to a cheese plate.
• fruits - there should not be a lack of them on the board. The composition should include grapes, which, like wine, goes well with cheeses, regardless of the type. Another great companion for cheeses, especially those with blue mold growths, is the pear.
• Nuts - they make a great decoration, but also an interesting difference in terms of taste and texture. Walnuts and roasted almonds pair especially well with cheeses.
• Honey - worth placing on the board - goes well with white milk cheeses, especially those with a very salty taste, such as feta.
• preserves are the perfect companion for cheeses. Cranberry jam goes well with smoked meats, while tomato, apricot or forest jam will suit almost any snack table.

Cheese board - inspiration

You already know the essential ingredients of a cheese board. However, there are so many products on the market that it can be difficult to decide on specific types. That is why we have prepared a list of the most popular cheeses from each category:

• cheeses with white mold: Brie, Camembert, Chevre, Collumier,
• cheeses with blue mold fouling: gorgonzola, roquefort, blue azure,
• semi-hard cheeses: Emmentaler, Gouda, Amber, Gruyere, Conte,
• hard cheeses: Grana Padano, Parmigiano,
• fresh cheeses: cottage cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, feta, halloumi.

If you want to include local products made in Poland on your board, you should consider Koryczynski cheese, Burshtyn, Bundz, Brynza, Masurian cheese, as well as, of course, the flagship oscypek and cottage cheese.

Cheese board - which one to choose?

The basis of a successful composition is the right choice of the board itself. When looking for the perfect option, you should pay attention to the material from which it is made. The most common is, of course, wood, which is durable and easy to work with.

However, you can often find stone options that look just as impressive, and at the same time even more durable than wooden products. However, if you choose a stone board, you must remember that it cannot be washed in the dishwasher. In addition, it is much heavier. Sometimes you can also find glass and marble options in stores, but it is stone and wood that predominate in this category.

Knives are also most often sold with cheese serving plates. It is important that the set contains at least three types of knives of different shapes - for fresh, semi-hard and hard cheese. Most often, it also includes a utility knife that works well with all types of cheese.

Both stone and wooden boards guarantee the possibility of creating a composition that will delight not only with its taste, but also with its visual side.