Cheese board
A selection of cheeses served together, or the wooden or stone board they are served on.
Also: cheeseboard, plateau de fromages, cheese platter
A cheese board is both the object and the selection on it. A balanced board usually offers three to five cheeses that contrast in milk, texture and style: perhaps a fresh goat cheese, a bloomy rind, an aged hard cheese and a blue. Cheeses are best taken out of the fridge an hour before serving, and each should have its own knife so flavours do not mix. Breads, crackers, fruit, nuts, honey, chutney and quince paste are common companions; in India a board may sit beside chutneys and pickles. Cheeses are tasted from mildest to strongest. Wood, slate and marble are all used, and wood is the most traditional.