Anatomy of a Cheeseboard
December 6, 2020
I can barely remember a time before our cheese board preoccupation. I am not sure how it happened but all of a sudden it was there. A full blown obsession with cheese plates. Now as a practice, we order the cheese plate at every restaurant and spend a considerable amount of time assessing and rating each cheese, nut, dried fruit, and chutney included. The quality of a meal is almost wholly dependent on the quality, variety, and quantity of the cheese board. I wouldn’t say it makes us experts, but I will say we are discerning. As a result and as would be expected, if there is an event thrown in the Erbe Living household, a cheese board is presented. Not only because we are self-proclaimed cheese board judges but for the myriad of reasons our obsession began.
It seems like we are not alone in this feeling. Cheese boards are everywhere. Why is this the case? For us, this offering has a guaranteed presence in our home for very important reasons. First and foremost it is simple to do. A cheese board requires zero to minimal cooking or preparation making it a fabulous edition to any party or event. If you are already preparing a meal for your guests the last thing you want to do is be worried about the starter. A cheese board can be, if need be, 100% purchased product that is assembled and served. Secondly this dish can be fully customized to your event and your guest list. We have adjusted the items included for holidays, dietary restrictions, number of guests, etc. without losing any of its ease of arranging or elegance of presentation. Lastly a cheese board automatically makes any event feel special. There is just something about it. Even when thrown together with small pieces of leftover cheese from the fridge, it brings a touch of magic without any of the fuss.
After staring at what seems like hundreds of cheese boards and throwing together dozens of our own, we have learned that a few simple items are key. Once these items are selected, it is as simple as staging the ingredients on a board in a functional and pleasing fashion. Yes functional is a critical aspect in the development of a cheese board but we will get more into that in a minute. You can of course add additional items such as greenery from the garden (lemon or fig leaves work wonders) for variety in the presentation of your board but this is not necessary to the overall look of your board. Follow our instructions below and we promise it will look incredible and taste so fabulous that your guests might lose their appetite for dinner.
Ingredients for a good cheese board:
1. The Cheese: We always start with the cheese when building our cheese board. The number and variety of cheeses for a cheese board depends on the size of your gathering and to a certain degree to the taste of your guests. A safe place to start is with two or three cheeses with various tastes and textures such as an herbed goat cheese, a cheddar, and a brie. We are fortunate to have amazing local cheese in the area such as Cowgirl Creamery and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. that have incredible local options to serve. This is a good way to go if you can find something like this in your area to ensure quality and freshness of the product. A good tip is to buy a couple things you know for sure your guests will take too and a couple new cheeses to try. This ensures you are never bored but never hungry.
2. Crackers or bread: We typically purchase a few good quality cracker options to mix and match with the cheeses. As with the cheese types, we look for a variety of flavors and textures in the crackers to give the board some interest. We have also, when feeling particularly involved, taken thin slices of good quality sourdough bread and grilled them with a little oil to serve with the cheese. This is a nice alternative if you are looking for something different than crackers to serve with the cheese.
3. Fruit: Fruit goes incredibly well with cheese and we typically include it in both the fresh and dried forms. Apples, pears, and figs are a good place to start but other fruits such as citrus, berries, and stone fruits work extremely well too. Can’t decide what to choose? Go with what is in season. For instance in the fall we choose pears and pink pearl apples for their look and tart flavor. Both are in season so were wonderfully flavorful for the board. We also without a doubt include dried fruit such as apricots, oranges, or cranberries on our boards. They add a different dimension to the cheese than the fresh fruit when combined.
4. Charcuterie: Although it’s technically in its own realm, we are guilty of adding charcuterie to our cheese board. These also go well with the cheese or on their own. We like to add this option for those who may not be able to eat dairy and need something more substantial than other non-dairy options on the board. Of course this can be omitted to have a vegetarian board.
5. Nuts: Any nut will work well with a cheese board. We selected marcona almonds for their unique taste and texture but these can be substituted for cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc. based on your taste and preference.
6. Spreads and Extras: The spreads, jellies, mustards, etc. that are selected for a board serve to showcase the various flavors in the cheeses you picked. No one has to be an expert in the appropriate combinations of cheese and spread but that’s the fun. Pick things to try and see what works. Splurging on couple boutique or local items such as honeycomb or small batch jams add a special touch without any extra cooking or work needed.
7. The Board and Knives: Our advice, don’t go spend hundreds of dollars on a cheese board. Frankly you don’t even need a cheese board. We really think any flat surface works great for a cheese plate. We have used cake plates, attractive cutting boards, trays, etc. for displaying our cheese service based on our event, décor, quantity of items, etc. We would advise to try to find something flat because of the ease of cutting and serving. It is no use if no one eats what you put together. The same goes for cheese knives. If you want to treat yourself to cheese knives, let’s be honest, you deserve it, but really any butter knife should do. We have also done cheese boards where we elected to slice the cheese beforehand so that no knives were needed. This is a nice option if you have difficult to cut cheese or if you don’t have the knives to go around. In terms of cutting, we will insist on one thing. If you are not going to cut your cheese prior to serving, you still need to cut one piece, slice, etc. out of each one. Otherwise if left whole, it will stay whole the entire evening. No one wants to be the first one. Trust us, cut one piece and it will be gone in no time.