Kick Off Your Weekend with a Scrummy Cheeseboard for all to Tackle
Question: What could make a Six Nations match even better?
Answer: A good cheeseboard.
Having friends and family round to shout at the rugby? What a great excuse to put together a cheeseboard to remember. Here are our top tips of what to include to keep everyone happy:
1. A bold cheddar
It would be silly of us not to recommend our own Vintage Organic Cheddar. Sharing with a group? We recommend our 400g round waxed cheddar. After something a little more unusual? People go nutty for our Smoked Vintage Organic Cheddar; we take our rich, creamy cheddar and lightly smoke it, resulting in a ridiculously moreish cheese.
2. Go blue
Whether you’re already a fan, or you’re trying to get into blue cheese, there are some great types out there to suit all taste buds. Fancy something from the south-west? We heartily recommend Cornish Blue; multi-award-winning cheese with a distinctive sweetness and mild flavour. A Stilton fiend? We love Cropwell Bishop Stilton from Nottinghamshire, these guys really know what they’re doing. Want a talking point? Pick up some Beenleigh blue – a delicious ewe’s milk blue that is crumbly and slightly sweet, great for those who avoid dairy too.
3. An oozing soft cheese
No cheeseboard would be complete without a gooey brie and we have 3 handmade organic types that come handily packaged here. Traditional, hand-rolled in cracked black pepper or infused with garlic and chives, there’s something to please everyone. You can buy them separately from your local stockists.
4. A little fruity crunch
There will always be a fierce debate about what fruit or veg reigns supreme on a cheeseboard. In the traditional corner we have thinly sliced apple, juicy grapes (try them frozen) and crunchy celery; make the leap to the modern and we’re looking at figs, radishes, cherries or beetroot (you can get some great infused types to add some further intrigue.)
5. Some crispy bases
We recommend generous slices of cheese at any one time, but what are we piling it on? Digestives give a great contrast to the sharpness of our cheddar – we like our really thick, oaty ones, which are more than a match for our punchy cheese. Meanwhile, a thin water biscuit is perfect for brie, the rosemary ones available in our gift packs complement our traditional brie perfectly. If you’re looking for something heftier, try chunks of fresh baguette, torn and stacked on the side of the board.
6. Dress it up
Last but not least you might want to offer up a chutney. Everyone has their favourites and we’re rather fond of our beetroot and apple version; its cool acidity cutting through a cheese’s creaminess and leaving you with space for even more cheese. Hurrah!
So there you have it, a run-down of the essentials. The great thing about a cheeseboard is you can customise it however you like, and you know you’ll have made the right selection when you see everyone picking away, even when there are just crumbs left. We’ve got a fierce rivalry here at Godminster Farm with a strong Welsh contingent, no doubt some Caerphilly will be sneaking on our match-day sharing board and we say, the more cheese the better! Disclaimer: A cheese board is best enjoyed as a group experience, we can’t really help those who have a natural aversion to sharing food.
Jess
