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.
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyPiave
A hard Italian cow's milk cheese from the Veneto region with a sweet flavor and PDO status.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇵🇹 PortugalCastelo BrancoQueijo de Castelo Branco
A soft Portuguese cheese from the Beira Baixa district, made with goat or sheep milk.Mixed · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceChabichou
A cylindrical French goat cheese with a natural rind, aged for two to three weeks.Goat · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreVacherin Fribourgeois
A Swiss semi-hard washed-rind cheese from the canton of Fribourg with a resiny taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalySilter
A brined, aged cow's-milk cheese from the Brescia mountains of Italy.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇪 GeorgiaTeniliტენილი ყველი
A stuffed string cheese from Georgia's Meskheti region, made from sheep's milk and aged in clay pots.Sheep · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceVieux-Boulogne
A soft, beer-washed cow's milk cheese from northern France known for its intense aroma.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainValdeónQueso de Valdeón
A Spanish blue cheese from León wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leavesCow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇷 GreeceLadotyri MytilinisΛαδοτύρι Μυτιλήνης
A hard Greek cheese from Lesbos preserved in olive oil since ancient times.Sheep · Hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalySpressa delle Giudicarie
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Giudicarie valley in Trentino-Alto Adige.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇬🇧 United KingdomDorset Blue Vinny
A hard, crumbly cow's-milk blue cheese from Dorset with a strong taste and protected status.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceAisy cendré
A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese rolled in wood ash and aged for two weeks.Cow · Washed rind · Smoky
🇬🇷 GreeceMetsovoneΜετσοβόνε
A semi-hard smoked pasta filata cheese from the Greek village of Metsovo.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyRobiola
A soft-ripened Italian cheese from Piedmont and Lombardy, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇸 SpainCasín cheesequeso Casin
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Asturias with a protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyCacioricotta
A southern Italian cheese made from milk and whey using a hybrid method.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomBuxton Blue
A cylindrical English cow's-milk blue cheese with russet veining, made under PDO rules.Cow · Blue · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇴 NorwaySnøfrisk
A soft, spreadable Norwegian goat cheese with a fresh, sour taste.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomLanark Blue
A semi-hard blue cheese made from raw sheep's milk in Scotland.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇧🇷 BrazilCanastra cheese
A raw cow's-milk cheese from Brazil's Serra da Canastra highlands.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyBastardo del Grappa
A semi-fat cow's milk cheese from the Veneto foothills with a soft crumbly texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceCathareCatara
A soft goat cheese from southern France with a charcoal-dusted rind marked by the Occitan cross.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreKanterkaas
A hard Dutch cow's milk cheese flavored with cumin and cloves, aged in Friesland.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceCharolais
A soft, natural-rind goat cheese from Burgundy with an AOC and PDO status.Goat · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇮🇹 ItalyRed Pecorinopicurinu rusu
A red, stretched-curd sheep's milk cheese from Sicily, coloured with tomato sauce.Sheep · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomLymeswold cheese
A short-lived English soft blue cheese with a white rind, made from cow's milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomBanbury cheese
A historic English cow's-milk cheese from Oxfordshire, known for its thin rounds and sharp taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalySottocenere al tartufo
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Venice with an ash rind and black truffle slices.Cow · Semi-soft · 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarbourne Blue
A firm, spicy British goat's milk blue cheese aged for ten weeks.Goat · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomLittle Derby
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from England with a washed red wine rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇪🇸 SpainCampo de Montalban
A semi-firm Spanish cheese from La Mancha made with a blend of cow, sheep and goat milk.Mixed · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇨🇦 CanadaPikauba
A semi-firm washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Quebec with a buttery taste and orange rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇬🇷 GreeceXynotyro
A hard, sour whey cheese from Greece made with sheep or goat milk.Mixed · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceBoursin
A soft, herb-flecked French spread made from pasteurized cow's milk and cream.Cow · Fresh · Herbal and grassy
🇬🇧 United KingdomStinking Bishop
A washed-rind Gloucestershire cheese ripened in perry from the Stinking Bishop pear.Cow · Washed rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceBrie de Melun
A small, strong cow's-milk cheese from Seine-et-Marne with an AOC label.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.
- Dorset Blue Vinny: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Charolais: Jackydarne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Piave: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Silter: Sistoiv, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tenili: Georgian Recipes at Georgia About, CC BY 3.0, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- Castelo Branco: Adriao, Public domain, source
- Chabichou: Mark Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aisy cendré: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valdeón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kanterkaas: AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vacherin Fribourgeois: Tombat24, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ladotyri Mytilinis: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Metsovone: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Casín cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Robiola: Andrea Marchisio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cacioricotta: Andrew Green, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Canastra cheese: [https://www.flickr.com/people/8100764@N03 Marcelo Costa ], CC BY 2.0, source
- Bastardo del Grappa: Krenakarore, Public domain, source
- Cathare: Paul Munhoven, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pikauba: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lymeswold cheese: Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Banbury cheese: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sottocenere al tartufo: F. D. Richards, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Oxford Blue: Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Stinking Bishop: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Brie de Melun: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source