How To Make The Perfect Cheese Board
Everyone loves a good cheese board. The creativity you get when you are creating the cheese board is half the fun. There are endless opportunities when creating the cheese board that you could have it any way you want it and it will still look gorgeous. The variety of what you can put it on the board goes beyond our imagination, so it’s fun to see and learn new tips and tricks for your next cheese board.
1. Theme
First a foremost, you need a theme from the board. By theme it could be fall so it has deep red jams and pumpkins as decoration. Or it could be for a football game and you make the meats or cheeses the shape of footballs. Or, if you’re feeling a girls weekend summer vibe, you could put sunflowers to get the bright yellow vibe that summer brings. The options are virtually endless, heck if you even wanted you could have it be Star Wars themes and make baby Yodas out of cheeses. Go crazy but also have it look cohesive.
2. Fruit
When you imagine a cheese board, normally the image of lots of cheese and crackers come up. However, fruit is so so essential to a cheese board. Have you ever had apples and brie? Or smoked gouda with grapes? Fruit is a must have on the board! Pick whats seasonal and fresh and it will make your cheese board far more organic and beautiful. Plus it gives people more option when they are making their multiple trips back to the board.
3. Different Shaped Cheese
We all know that the cheese is the star of the show here. So, make sure you have at least three to four kinds of cheese. With that being said, make sure that the variety of shapes is different. You could keep the cheeses that are easy to cut in the block it came in and put a cheese knife next to it. And for the cheeses that are a little more difficult to cut through, you could cut them in to square slices, triangular slices, cubes, etc. It’s easier to identify the cheese and keeps the board looking less boring. Cutting cheese is one of the easiest parts to making the cheese board, so if you’re out there doing that, it will look like you put in a lot of effort towards the board.
4. The Right Board
Whether you head to William’s Sonoma or Home Goods, find the perfect cheese board. Everyone needs at least two different cheese boards in their kitchen. This ensures options and that if you have extra cheese yousage, have a baby board that you can keep for yourself later. The cheese board itself needs to fit the aesthetic of the theme. So, it’s nice to have one that is the pretty tan would that is a large rectangle. And then a smaller one that is maybe black stone, white marble, etc. A cheese board is extremely important because as everything gets eaten the more of the board is shown. So, you want the board to be pretty as well.
5. Flowers
Cheese boards need a little bit of decoration and methods to the madness. So, go to the farmer’s market or your grocery store and find some flowers that would match the vibe of your board or what is in season right now. When you get done fully assembling your board, strategically place the flowers around the cheese board. make sure you cut the stems off the flowers though so they can lay flat on board. Flowers add something more to the board so that there is more to look at. Plus, when you have the board done, the flowers make the board way more Instagrammable.
6. Meats
Everyone can collectively agree that they could eat meat and cheese for the rest of their lives. A cheese board deserves an abundance of different meats on it. Whether it’s summer sausage, salami, prosciutto, etc. There needs to be a decent amount on the board because meat, cheese, and jam hits different. If meats like that aren’t your thing, then it’s nice to find something salty to balance out all the sweet and savory that’s going on. A great alternative is olives. Specifically kalamata or green!
7. Spreads
Cheese boards need plenty of spreads to go with the cheese. These could be jams, pepper jelly, honey, etc. But, you must have something that can go with the cheese and meats you have prepared. If you’re feeling crazy while making your cheese board, a great “spread” is melting brie and mixing jam in it. This turns a much loved cheese in to an even more loved dip. It is magical and takes less than ten minutes to prepare. But other than that, make sure you have a few options of spreads so that you can pair it with your cheese or fruits, or can stand alone on a cracker.
8. Nuts
While they are not as desired as everything else that’s on the board, if you have gaps to fill on your board than placing handfuls of almonds or pistachios are a great option to fill in the space. It looks organic and like they’re meant to be there. Plus, you always have those few guests that munch on them while they figure out what cheese and spread combination they are going for next. Nuts are also nice to include on the cheese board because it adds a different texture to the board.
9. Vegetables
To add something fresh to your cheese board, you can never go wrong with vegetables. Carrots, celery, cauliflower, etc. If you don’t want to add fresh vegetables then adding pickled vegetables is also a great option. Pickled vegetables can add that tangy flare to the board that the other ingredients can’t. It’s a great option and an even better snack to have on your cheese board for your guests. Even if they don’t get all eaten, it still is pretty to look at.
