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.
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Toscano
A firm Tuscan sheep's milk cheese with PDO status since 1996.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇨🇭 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
🇪🇸 SpainMajorero
A semi-hard goat milk cheese from Fuerteventura with a nutty, buttery taste.Goat · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainGarrotxa
A semi-soft Catalan goat cheese with a powdery gray rind and earthy flavor.Goat · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar
🇮🇹 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
🇳🇴 NorwaySnøfrisk
A soft, spreadable Norwegian goat cheese with a fresh, sour taste.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomStichelton
A raw-milk blue cheese made in Nottinghamshire using traditional unpasteurised methods.Cow · Blue · Buttery and creamy
🇫🇷 FranceDélice de Bourgogne
A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Burgundy with a bloomy rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇭🇺 HungaryPálpusztai cheese
A pungent Hungarian soft cow's milk cheese aged for two to three weeks.Cow · Piquant and spicy
🇩🇪 GermanyNieheimer Käse
A sour milk cheese from North Rhine-Westphalia ripened in hops and flavored with caraway.Cow · Hard · 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
🇫🇷 FranceChavroux
A soft goat's milk cheese sold in small pyramid or cylinder containers.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceCathareCatara
A soft goat cheese from southern France with a charcoal-dusted rind marked by the Occitan cross.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomTintern
A soft, blended cow's milk Cheddar flavoured with chives and shallots, wrapped in lime green wax.Cow · Semi-soft · Herbal and grassy
🇧🇬 BulgariaCherni VitЧерни Вит
A soft sheep's milk cheese from Bulgaria with a naturally green mold crust.Sheep · Salty
🇺🇦 UkraineHutsul sheep bryndzyaгуцульська овеча бриндзя
A soft, crumbly sheep's-milk cheese from the Ukrainian Carpathians, ripened and salted by hand.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceChabis
A soft, white-moulded goat cheese from western France, often spiced.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyCaprino
An Italian goat's-milk cheese made in fresh or aged styles across several regions.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomOxford Blue
A soft, creamy English blue cheese with spicy and chocolate notes, made in Oxfordshire.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreAlpkäse
A seasonal hard cow's-milk cheese made on high Alpine pastures in summer.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇷 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
🇫🇷 FranceFromager d'Affinois
A hexagonal industrial soft cheese with a bloomy rind made in France.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tintern: Dave Crosby, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pecorino Toscano: Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fromager d'Affinois: Eugene Peretz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Majorero: Mumumío ( www.mumumío.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
- Kanterkaas: AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vacherin Fribourgeois: Tombat24, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pálpusztai cheese: JezWegierski, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Garrotxa: Government of Catalonia, Attribution, 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
- Délice de Bourgogne: Beprost, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nieheimer Käse: Tsungam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stichelton: Jeremy Keith, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chavroux: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Cathare: Paul Munhoven, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hutsul sheep bryndzya: Ukrinform TV, CC BY 3.0, source
- Alpkäse: Guy Waterval, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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