How to make a Christmas cheese board
As we get closer and closer to Christmas, it’s time to start making plans for the big day. If you’re a cheese lover, the Christmas cheese board is as important as the presents, the mince pies, and Santa himself.
But when it comes to creating the perfect Christmas cheese board to offer to family and friends over the festive season, where do you begin? We’ve put together some handy tips on how to make a Christmas cheese board.
1. Select a range of cheeses
Christmas is the time when family and friends descend on your house en masse – so it’s important to make sure you have a wide variety of cheese to suit all tastebuds (along with your own personal favourites, of course).
As a rough guide, try to include at least one type of soft, semi-soft, hard, blue, and aged cheese – then you’ll have a fantastically diverse mix. If you’re looking for a good selection of cheeses to get you started, our Born in Bruton Gift Box contains a great range of different cheeses and accompaniments.
2. Slice the cheese
If you’re planning to leave your cheese board for guests to sample from, make things easier for them by preparing some of the cheese beforehand.
Block cheeses, such as Cheddar and Red Leicester, work best when neatly sliced into rectangles and wedges. You can also cut a block of cheese up into cubes for easy-to-eat bitesize portions.
When it comes to creamy, soft cheeses, such as Brie or Gouda, it’s better to keep the cheese whole, or cut it into wedges – perfect for spreading across a cracker or biscuit.
3. Add some accompaniments
There are lots of snacks and sides you can add to your board to complement your carefully chosen cheese. As you’ll have a range of cheeses on the cheeseboard, incorporating a range of flavours and texture – from sweet and salty, to smooth and crunchy – is important too.
Biscuits, bread, and crackers
Every good cheese deserves a good cracker. Try to include a variety of crackers and biscuits: (plain, salty, spiced, etc.). Some slices of delicious bread never go amiss on a cheese board too.
Chutneys and jams
Keep everyone’s tastebuds tingling by including a selection of delicious chutneys on your cheese board. Caramelised red onion chutney is particularly well-suited to hard cheeses, such as mature Cheddar, or strong cheeses, such as Stilton. Fruity chutneys and jams are ideal for soft cheeses like Brie.
Fruit and nuts
Berries and crunchy apple slices partner beautifully with soft cheeses. Grapes pair deliciously with aged, mature Cheddars, while dried fruits (e.g. apricots) are perfect for hard cheeses. A variety of nuts, including plain and candied, are also great to put on a cheese board, offering contrasting textures and flavours.
Cured meats, olives, and pickles
Cured meats such as prosciutto, Parma ham, salami, and chorizo are a match made in cheese heaven (with the added bonus of looking very striking and fancy on your cheese board). You can also cater to vegetarian and vegan tastes by offering delicious meat-free alternatives, such as olives and pickles.
4. Pair some wine
Want to take your Christmas cheese board to the next level? Cracking open a bottle of wine alongside is the way to go. Here are some top tips for pairing cheese and wine:
- Pair white wine with soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert.
- Pair red wine with aged cheeses like Gouda and Cheddar.
- Pair prosecco and sparkling wine with soft, creamy cheeses, like our Organic Vintage Truffle Cheddar.
- Pair port with strong-flavoured cheese, like blue cheese, aged Cheddar, and Gouda.
In need of Christmas cheese?
Whether you’re preparing your own Christmas cheese board, or on the lookout for Christmas cheese gifts, Godminster can help. From Christmas gifts for cheese lovers to everything your cheese board needs, we’ve got you covered this festive season.
If you’re interested in more information about any of our products, please get in touch with the Godminster team today.
