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EveryCheese

Cheeses for cheese boards

Served on its own, sliced or cut at the table, with bread, fruit and something to drink.

A cheese board serves cheese for its own sake, cut at the table and eaten with bread, fruit and something to drink. In France it comes after the main course and before dessert; in Britain and Ireland, often after dessert with a glass of port; in Spain and Italy, as tapas or antipasto. A good board balances styles, milks and strengths, so that each cheese shows off the others.

Building a board

Three to five cheeses are plenty for most tables. A common pattern is one of each kind: a soft bloomy or fresh goat cheese, a firm aged cheese such as Comté or Manchego, a blue, and perhaps a washed rind. Mixing cow's, goat's and sheep's milk adds variety. Allow about 30 to 50 grams of each cheese per person after a meal, and more if the board is the meal. Take the cheeses out of the fridge an hour before serving.

Order and cutting

Taste from mild to strong, so that a blue or a washed rind comes last. Cut each cheese so that everyone gets a fair share of rind and centre: wedges from the middle of a round, long slices along a wedge of hard cheese. An old rule of etiquette says never to cut the point off a wedge of Brie, which leaves the next person with only rind. Use a separate knife for blues and strong cheeses, so their flavour does not travel.

What goes with it

Bread and plain crackers, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, honey and fruit pastes are the usual partners. Spain serves Manchego with membrillo, quince paste; Britain serves Stilton with port; France eats its board with bread and red wine. In India, cheese boards from the country's growing number of artisan dairies set Bandel, Kalimpong and hill-farm cheeses beside chutneys, fresh fruit and roasted nuts.

Worth knowing

  • Comté: A firm, nutty anchor for any board
  • Brie de Meaux: The classic soft cheese
  • Stilton: Blue served with port
  • Manchego: Served with quince paste
  • Roquefort: Sheep's milk blue for the end of the board
  • Crottin de Chavignol: A fresh goat note
  • Époisses: A strong washed rind to finish
  • Kalimpong cheese: A mild Indian hill cheese

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Cheese boards on EveryCheese

The cheeses written up so far, best known first.

StyleFreshBrinedStretched curdBloomy rindLacticWashed rindSemi-softSemi-hardAlpineHardBlueSmokedWheyDriedProcessed
MilkCowGoatSheepBuffaloYakCamelMixedOther
FlavourMilky and freshButtery and creamyNuttySweet and caramelTangy and lacticSaltySharp and tangy-agedSavoury and brothyEarthy and cellarMushroomyPungent and funkySmokyHerbal and grassyPiquant and spicy
🇫🇷 FranceCamembert A soft-ripened cow's milk cheese from Normandy with a white mould rindCow · Bloomy rind · Earthy and cellar 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic 🇺🇸 United StatesBig Woods Blue A firm, creamy sheep's-milk blue cheese aged six to eight months in Minnesota.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · Salty 🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreGvina levanaגבינה לבנה A soft, unripened cow's-milk cheese spread on bread in Israel.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMarble cheese A processed cow's milk cheese with distinct colored marbling patterns.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy 🇺🇸 United StatesMorcella A Minnesota sheep-milk cheese coated with morel mushrooms and aged in autumn.Sheep · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar 🇺🇸 United StatesLiederkranz A pungent American smear-ripened cow's milk cheese created in 1891 as a Limburger variant.Cow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky 🇦🇺 AustraliaCheer A mature cheddar cheese made in Australia by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇪 IrelandClonmore A hard, waxed-rind goat's milk cheese from County Cork, IrelandGoat · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇦🇹 AustriaLüneberg A saffron-tinted cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, bridging Swiss and German styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇨🇳 ChinaKefir cheese A tangy, creamy cheese set using kefir culture rather than rennet or acid.Mixed · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇫🇷 FranceClochette A small bell-shaped goat cheese from France with a wrinkled white rind and firm texture.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic 🇺🇸 United StatesD'Isigny A soft American cheese modeled on French Brie and Camembert styles.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 ItalyCastelrosso A rare semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Piedmont with a gray rind and mild lactic flavor.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇪 IrelandSt Tola Handmade goat's milk cheese from Inagh, County Clare, ranging from fresh logs to aged wheels.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇺🇸 United StatesBergenost A triple-cream Norwegian-style butter cheese from New York with green wax.Mixed · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy 🇪🇬 EgyptMishمش (meš) A fermented Egyptian salty cheese aged in buttermilk brine until sharp and pungent.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty 🇺🇸 United StatesSaga A mild Danish blue-veined cheese with a white mould rind and creamy texture.Cow · Bloomy rind 🇳🇴 NorwayNøkkelost A Norwegian cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and cloves, aged for three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇦🇱 AlbaniaMishavin A soft, crumbly Albanian cheese aged in skins and wood from sheep or cow milk.Sheep · Buttery and creamy 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreBrie A soft, pale French cow's-milk cheese with a white mould rind, aged for about five weeks.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇬🇧 United KingdomStinking Bishop A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from Gloucestershire, ripened in perry.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇪 GeorgiaGuda cheeseგუდის ყველი A salted sheep's-milk cheese ripened inside a leather wineskin in the Georgian mountains.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomHereford Hop A firm cow's-milk cheese with a rind coated in toasted hops, made in Herefordshire.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇪 GeorgiaDambalkhachoდამბალხაჭო A pungent, semi-soft Georgian cheese aged in clay pots with sour buttermilk curdsCow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky 🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreBondostbond-ost A firm Swedish cow's-milk cheese aged in brine for six to eight weeks.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇦🇹 Austria and 1 moreTyrolean grey cheeseTiroler Graukäse A low-fat cow's milk acid-curd quark from the Tyrolean Alps with a moulded rind.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty 🇹🇷 TurkeyGolot cheese A granular, pressed Turkish whey cheese from the Eastern Black Sea region.Mixed · Semi-hard · Salty 🇫🇷 FranceRoule cheese A soft, herb and garlic flavoured cow's milk cheese rolled into a spiral shape.Cow · Bloomy rind · Herbal and grassy 🇮🇪 IrelandCoolea A wax-rinded cow's milk cheese from County Cork with sweet, caramelly notes.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇳🇱 NetherlandsRoomano An aged hard cow's-milk cheese from Friesland with less butterfat than standard Gouda.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇮🇪 IrelandGubbeen A washed-rind semi-soft cow's milk cheese from County Cork, Ireland.Cow · Semi-soft · Mushroomy 🇾🇪 YemenYemeni cheeseجبنة تعز A smoked semi-hard sheep or goat milk cheese from Taiz Governorate in Yemen.Sheep · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy 🇫🇷 FranceBaguette laonnaise A soft, washed-rind cow's milk cheese from northern France shaped like a small loaf.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy 🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreBasket cheesesepet peyniri A fresh, unsalted or lightly salted whey and curd cheese shaped in reed baskets from the Aegean coast.Goat · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇪 IrelandBay Lough Cheese A self-taught Irish cheddar-style cheese aged in waxed wheels.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇫🇷 FranceRoquefortRòcafòrt A raw sheep's milk blue cheese aged in the Combalou caves of southern France.Sheep · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlue cheese A family of cheeses defined by blue-green mold veins created through deliberate inoculation and piercing.Cow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino A family of Italian hard sheep's-milk cheeses with protected status.Sheep · Hard · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇹 ItalyBurrata A fresh Italian cheese with a solid mozzarella pouch filled with cream and stracciatella.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 ItalyGrana Padano A hard, grainy Italian cow's-milk cheese aged for at least nine months in the Po Valley.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandAppenzeller A hard, washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from northeast Switzerland with a herbal brine rind.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 France and 1 moreMunsterMunster-géromé A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from the Vosges mountains of eastern France.Cow · Bloomy rind · Pungent and funky 🇫🇷 FranceComté A hard, cooked-pressed cow's milk cheese from eastern France, aged up to three years.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
More cheeses

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cheeses you may not know, the cheese days of the week ahead, and one dish explained step by step.