How to Prepare Cheese Boards and Cheese Plates
How to Prepare Cheese Boards and Cheese Plates
We hope that the following suggestions will help you to plan your party and enjoy your cheeses. Please feel free to experiment and expand on any and all of the ideas presented here.
ALWAYS ALLOW YOUR CHEESES TO REACH ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE SERVING THEM.
First determine how many people will be served then decide what type of setting or theme you will have for example a cheese course for a Spanish or French style dinner, a wine and cheese tasting party, or a stand alone cheese board. When this is determined it is easy to calculate the amount of cheese per person. Figure that for an appetizer or a tasting party a three cheese plate will account for about one ounce of each cheese per person for a six cheese setting cut these portions in half.
A cheese board or cheese plate is a collection of cheeses that are set out for the purposes of tasting and comparing or as an appetizer course. The cheese board should be composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of six cheeses arranged on a large serving area with each cheese on its' own plate. The reason for this is that the selection should be diverse enough to comprise cheeses of different countries, milks and textures (ie: soft, hard or semi-hard) but not too many to overwhelm the guests palates. You may want to label the cheeses and provide a brief description and country of origin for each one. Always provide crackers, thinly sliced meats, olives, fruit spreads or jams,nuts, and fresh fruits as accompaniments for the cheeses.
For more substantial settings like a cheese course at dinner or a cheese board consider serving 2 to 2 1/2 ounces per cheese for each person. With these figures you should be able to calculate the amount of cheese to purchase, but you should always add at least and extra 1/2 lb to each of your cheese totals so that you will not be caught short. As the host you can enjoy any of the leftovers the next day!
The serving or presentation area should be large enough so that the cheeses do not touch each other or co-mingle while being handled, this will prevent mixing of the aromas and flavors. Precut small portions of each cheese and then let your guests cut their own portions.
The cheese plate is essentially the same concept except each diner is individually given a small portion of each cheese on his or her plate. For larger gatherings serving plates with sliced cheese can be presented on each table and the diners can choose their own portions and cheeses. Try to cut the cheeses into interesting shapes such as wedges not just the usual cubes because this will add eye appeal to each plate.
When serving cheese as a dinner course present only one or two pre-cut selections and place them on each diners plate. Also be sure to provide your guests with two or three cheese condiments such as olives, fruit, nuts, fruit spreads or jams and of course crusty breads. Wines if offered should represent the same country and region as that of the cheeses.
A wine and cheese tasting party should also contain a diverse selection (three to six types) of cheeses but each should be presented separately on its own plate or board. With this in mind we like to create a progression of cheeses to be sampled. This progression can be designed in many ways according to the theme of your party. What we mean here, as an example is suppose you are having a Spanish theme night then the focus would be on Spanish cheeses. So for this you could then choose Spanish cheeses from different types of milk like goat, cow and sheep, or by texture, soft, hard, semi-hard and fresh.
The next part is to set up the tasting selections in the order of flavor starting with the mildest and working up to the most flavorful and complex. By doing this you will expose your guests to a series of differing flavors that will build upon each previous one. For instance Spanish theme could start with a mild goat milk cheese like Murcia al Vino then move on to Idiazabal a smoked sheep cheese and finally Cabrales a strong blue cheese. When choosing by texture, the type of milk is not important so once again go from fresh to soft to hard.
You can choose only hard or soft cheeses but then again always go from mild flavor to strong flavor. As noted above, all of your selections should be on individual serving plates or boards. To make everything go a bit smoother precut each cheese into small wedges and cubes but leave a portion of each uncut, this will encourage your guests to cut larger portions of cheeses that they find enjoyable. Be sure to provide a separate knife for each cheese so that the flavors do not get mixed and muddied.
Hopefully all of this does not sound intimidating or seem to be too daunting a task. Just remember that anyone can create a wonderful table presentation with just a little thought and preparation. I suggest strongly that you find a good local or online cheese shop that is willing to help you with your plans and questions. They can provide an invaluable service to you and can make your dinner or party a success.
Lester Majkowicz writes for the popular Around The World Cheese website. You can learn about storing, purchasing, preparation and find reviews for fine gourmet cheese by reading the articles at http://www.aroundtheworldgourmetcheese.com.
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