Today marks National Cheese and Wine Day, the perfect opportunity to master the art of creating a delicious cheese board to indulge solo or with loved ones.
The secret to the ultimate cheese board is simple – include whatever you enjoy or fancy at the time. There’s no right or wrong way to creating a cheese board but there are ways you can elevate it with thoughtful choices of cheeses and complementary food pairings.
To celebrate and spark some inspiration for today, experts at meal-prep service, HelloFresh, have shared how to perfect your cheeseboard, with suggestions on pairing options and how to display it for the ultimate wow factor.
Choosing the right cheeses
It’s always best to have a variety of flavours and textures to choose from. The cheese is the showstopper on your board so getting this right is vital.
You want to be able to taste the different flavours so the HelloFresh team recommend choosing from the following categories for variety:
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Firm or semi-firm cheeses: Such as cheddar, comté, edam, emmental, gouda, manchego.
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Spreadable or soft cheeses: Like brie, camembert, goat’s cheese or mozzarella.
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Something a bit ‘out there’: Blue cheeses such as cabrales, Danish blue, gorgonzola, stilton or roquefort.
If you choose two cheeses from the same category (which is perfectly acceptable), ensure they still offer some contrast. For instance, goat’s cheese and brie are from a similar ‘soft cheese’ profile, being light and creamy – but their flavours are distinctively different. While goat’s cheese is tangy and often herby, brie is much more creamy and buttery.
Add savoury elements
No cheese board is complete without the addition of savoury elements. This can be anything from sliced baguettes to fresh vegetables. Here are some options that are sure to complement and elevate your board:
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Bread and crackers: Sliced bread, crackers and breadsticks offer a neutral base that help bring out the distinct flavours of your cheese.
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Nuts and Olives: Roasted almonds, walnuts, pecans and olives work well to complement a variety of cheeses.
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Fresh vegetables: Roasted peppers, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers add a refreshing twist to your board.
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Spreads: Chutney, hummus, spicy mustards and pesto are perfect for dipping.
If you love the idea of a cheese board but want to add a little more variety of foods, why not try creating your own charcuterie board instead? Experiment with adding different cured meats such as chorizo, salami and bacon for that extra flavour.
Add something sweet
Everyone’s taste buds are different, so adding a variety of sweet and savoury options will go down a treat. Here’s a list of fruits which HelloFresh recommend adding to your board:
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Grapes
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Apples
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Watermelon
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Blueberries
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Bananas
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Strawberries
Including chocolate and a variety of jams can also enhance your cheese board. Dark chocolate pairs well with aged cheeses like Gouda and blue cheese, while milk chocolate complements softer cheeses such as Brie and Camembert. Adding an assortment of jams, such as apricot and raspberry, will bring out the flavours in the cheese and add a burst of sweetness to your board.
Styling tips
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Fun shaped cheeses
This creative way of dressing cheese works best on cheeses with a sturdy structure such as cheddar, gouda and manchego. Simply cut your favourite shapes into your cheese, whether that be stars, hearts of flowers. For best results, cut your cheese into 1 inch slices before you cut your shapes out, this way, you’ll have delicious bite size cheese shapes for your board.
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Get creative with your crackers and bread
Styling your bread and crackers can be tricky. Unlike cured meats and cheeses that have a bit of room to bend and shape, they need to remain intact. However, using your crackers and bread to create a trail around your charcuterie can be a creative way of leading a person’s eye to the other things on offer such as meats and antipasti.
Lay your pieces on your board and direct them in any direction depending on how you plan to style your board, allowing them to lay on top of one another like a fallen trail of dominoes.
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Finish off with garnishes
Take your cheese board to the next level by including edible flowers or fresh herbs. These finishing touches can be tailored to achieve the desired aesthetic. Adding extra fruits also creates a vibrant pop of colour, making your cheese board more visually appealing.
For more tasty cheese recipes and expert tips and tricks, visit the HelloFresh website.