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
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.
🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț
A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreProvolone
A semi-hard Italian stretched-curd cheese aged for at least four months.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇵🇹 PortugalSão Jorge CheeseQueijo São Jorge
A hard cow's-milk cheese from the Azores with a spicy aroma and protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇪🇸 SpainZamoranoQueso zamorano
A hard, dark-rinded sheep's milk cheese from the province of Zamora in Spain.Sheep · Hard · Nutty
🇩🇪 GermanyMilbenkäse
A German quark cheese ripened with living cheese mites in rye flour.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇸 SpainSan Simón da Costa
A pear-shaped, smoked cow's milk cheese from Galicia with a smooth brown rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainCasín cheesequeso Casin
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Asturias with a protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇭🇺 HungaryPálpusztai cheese
A pungent Hungarian soft cow's milk cheese aged for two to three weeks.Cow · Piquant and spicy
🇮🇹 ItalyRed Pecorinopicurinu rusu
A red, stretched-curd sheep's milk cheese from Sicily, coloured with tomato sauce.Sheep · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomOxford Blue
A soft, creamy English blue cheese with spicy and chocolate notes, made in Oxfordshire.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zamorano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- São Jorge Cheese: VulcaoAtlantico, CC BY 4.0, source
- San Simón da Costa: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Brânză de coșuleț: Vlad.saileanu at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Milbenkäse: Benutzer:Dundak at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pálpusztai cheese: JezWegierski, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Provolone: Lenore Edman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Casín cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oxford Blue: Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0, source