Elevate your Christmas celebrations with the ultimate Christmas cheese board! Packed with artisan cheeses, fresh fruits, and crunchy crackers, this festive platter is perfect for sharing with family and friends. Follow our tips to create a stunning centrepiece that every cheese lover will adore this Christmas season!
How to Create Your Ultimate Christmas Cheese Board
- Leave softer cheeses such as brie or blue cheeses whole, slice the harder cheeses such as red Leicester and cheddar.
- Leave gaps between your cheeses and fill with chutneys, grapes and nuts.
- Add variations of crackers.
- For a final touch add fresh figs and apple slices!
Tips for Assembling and Serving Your Cheese Board
Creating and serving a cheese board can be a delightful experience! Here are some tips to help you assemble a visually appealing and tasty cheese board that will impress your guests!
- Choose a variety of cheeses
You should use a selection of both soft and hard/firm cheeses when making a cheeseboard. This will give your board a delicious variety of texture and flavour. Soft cheeses include brie, Camembert, feta and gorgonzola. Add a few hard cheeses, such as cheddar or Pecorino. Paxton & Whitfield, who are London cheesemongers since 1797, suggest 3-4 different soft and hard cheese is usually enough when creating a cheese board. In terms of portion size, we estimate about 1-2 ounces of cheese per person, if served as an appetiser.
2. Accompaniments
You should provide a selection of crackers or sliced baguette to pair with the cheese. This will give texture and elevate the flavour of the soft and hard cheeses. Try adding a handful of fruits, both fresh and dried, to bring sweetness to the bitter cheeses like Cornish Yarg. You can also add a few nuts, such as almonds or pistachios for a tasty crunch and richness.
Many people also include savoury options to their cheese board, such as salami or rolled ham, and olives. If you have a sweet tooth, try incorporating sweetness to the board, with honey, or fig jam for a gentle touch of sweetness that pairs beautifully with brie or ricotta.
For a kick of acidity, add a few handfuls of cornichons, pickled onions or marinated artichoke hearts.
How to Assemble a Cheese Board
- Use a base
Many people opt for the classic wooden board, but you can also use slate or perhaps a marble platter. You should avoid wooden boards that are porous (such as oak, walnut, or mahogany) as these can absorb flavours and smells from cheese. Do not use a board with a lacquer finish or vanish, as these are not food safe and can chip into the wood.
2. Arrange the cheeses first
Space the soft and hard cheeses evenly, allowing room for other ingredients. You can slice or crumble some cheeses, such as cheddar or feta, for easy access, but leave others whole for presentation, such as a Brie cheese round.
3. Make the board more appealing and tasty
Group ingredients around the cheeses that they pair well with. Apples and cheddar is a classic pairing! This is because the sweet, tartness of apples compliment the sharp, savoury taste of the cheddar. Dried pears match well with brie due to the tartness of the pear, complimenting the buttery richness of brie.
Make sure to sue small bowls for jams, olive, or honey to contain the mess but also to make the board look aesthetically neat and clean.
4. Layers of texture and colours
When assembling your cheese board, you should alternate between bright fruits, neutral crackers, and rich cheeses for visual appeal.
Serving Tips for Cheese Boards
Before serving your cheese board, you need to make sure the cheeses have been sitting in a room temperature environment for 30-60 minutes. This will ensure optimal flavour of the creamy, rich selection of cheeses.
Speaking of cheeses, you can use small labels or cards to identify each cheese. This is a great idea for guests who might not be familiar with their origin or flavour.
To avoid flavour mixing, try offering separate knives of spreaders for each cheese. This will make the experience more enjoying and delicious.
Why Maldon Salt is the Perfect Finishing Touch
Maldon Salt is the perfect finishing touch for cheese boards because it elevates both the flavour and presentation of the cheeses and their accompaniments. Here is why:
- Enhances the cheese’s natural flavours
Maldon Salt’s pyramid-shaped flakes have a clean, bright salinity that breaks through the creamy, rich textures of cheese like Brie or tripe-cream varieties. Sea Salt also helps elevate the nutty, tangy or sometimes sharp notes of cheeses (such as Cheddar or Parmesan).
2. Sweet and salty balanace
A simple pinch of Maldon Salt enhances the sweetness of honey, figs of caramelised nuts.
3. Textural appeal
Maldon Salt’s light, flaky crystals provide a delicious crunch that contrasts from the creamy, or crumbly textures of cheeses. Due to the flakes formation, it dissolves gently on the tongue, leaving a burst of fresh flavour without being gritty.
By adding Maldon Salt to your cheese board, you enhance the flavours and textures, ensuring every bite feels delicious satisfying.
