Cheese Preparation
Always serve cheese at room temperature; never serve it straight from the fridge. Many say never put cheese in the fridge at all, but this is difficult to avoid unless you have a cellar or old fashioned larder. If the cheese has come from the fridge, allow it plenty of time to warm up. This may take 1-2 hour’s, or even longer for a large wedge of hard cheese, depending on the ambient room temperature.
The Cheese Board
A few carefully chosen cheeses will complement each other far better than a haphazard array. Indeed one large cheese at the end of a meal could be an even better choice than a more typical cheese board with a selection.
Whether you have a selection of cheeses or a single cheese, it is a good idea to consider the preceding courses. Rich and complex cheeses are best served after roasts and grilled meats, whereas hard goat’s cheese and traditional English cheeses are a good choice for more opulent dishes. Young and refreshing cheeses go well after spicy food. Here is a selection of suggested tasting boards:
Classic French Tasting Board: Comte, Brie de Meux, Chevre Log, Pont l’Eveque, Roquefort
Adventurous French Tasting Board: Blue d'Avergne, Valency, Explorateur, Epoisses, Tomme de Savoie, Banon
Swiss Tasting Board: Appenzel, Emmental, Sapsago, Tete de Moine, Vacherine Mon't Dor
Italian Cheese Tasting Board: Fontina D'Aosta, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano, Robiola, Taleggio
Classic English Tasting Board: Ducketts Caerphilly, Farmhouse Lancashire, Mature Cheddar, Stilton, Wensleydale
New British Farmhouse Cheese Tasting Board: Cotherstone, Millerns, Ragstone, Sharpham, Ticklemore
Presenting the Cheese
Conventionally, cheeses tend to be arranged on a marble slab or wooden chopping board, but slate, or even a ceramic floor tile can look good. A shallow reed/wicker basket gives a rustic look, but in general its better for the surface to be flat to make cutting easier.
The conventional way to arrange a cheese board is to progress clockwise from soft to hard, and mild to strong. Accompaniments that go well with cheese and look good on a cheese board include grapes, dates, slices of pear, and slices of apple, walnuts and pecan nuts. You will also want some nice rustic bread, perhaps a baguette or farmyard loaf, as well as a selection of crackers.
How Much To Serve?
It depends what role the cheeseboard plays in the meal. If it is the main course following on from a salad, soup or if it’s the focus of a party, allow 200g per person. If it follows the main course and precedes a desert, 80g for each person should be ample. If a cheese board follows the main course in place of the desert, about 100g will be enough.
An Introduction to Cutting Cheese
The way cheeses are cut is governed by a combination of etiquette (respect for the cheese and other diners) and practical considerations, both for using and keeping it in prime condition.
A typical example of bad cheese manners is to cut yourself a piece from the centre of a Roquefort, where the blue is most concentrated, and leaving the paler, blander outer parts for other diners. The unspoken rule requires that each helping of cheese should include a little of the rind - firstly so that everyone has an equal share, and secondly because the flavour of a cheese is never the same throughout, but usually more pronounced towards the edges. These nuances form part of the pleasure of eating cheese.
There are a number of special tools for cutting cheese correctly. The Roquefortaise, made for cutting Roquefort, resembles a wire used for slicing butter and slices through the soft cheese without crumbling it. Some hard cheeses need a double handled knife, while softer cheese a little curved, two pronged knife is perfect, or a long, very thin bladed knife so the cheese doesn’t stick to it. Don't hesitate to dip the knives in hot water before cutting the cheese.