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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
🇮🇪 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 🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMarble cheese A processed cow's milk cheese with distinct colored marbling patterns.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy 🇫🇷 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 🇮🇹 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 moreMimolette A bright orange cow's-milk cheese from northern France, aged with mites for a nutty flavor.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreCaciocavallo A stretched-curd cheese from southern Italy shaped like a teardrop and aged to develop a hard rind.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty 🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreSbrinz A very hard, full-fat cow's-milk cheese from Central Switzerland aged for over two years.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇧 United KingdomCaerphilly A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from South Wales with a mild lemony taste.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic 🇵🇹 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomRed Leicester A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from England, aged for months and coloured with annatto.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇸🇪 SwedenVästerbottenVästerbottensost A hard, salty Swedish cow's milk cheese aged at least a year in VästerbottenCow · Hard · Salty 🇪🇸 SpainMahónformatge de Maó / queso de Mahón A cow's-milk cheese from Menorca that ranges from soft and mild to hard and sharp.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreRumiجبنة رومى A hard, salty Egyptian cow or buffalo milk cheese with a pungent aroma.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandBerner AlpkäseBerner Hobelkäse A hard, hole-free Swiss cheese from the Bernese Alps, aged up to two years.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇮🇹 ItalyPiave A hard Italian cow's milk cheese from the Veneto region with a sweet flavor and PDO status.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇷 FranceTomme des PyrénéesToma de Pirenèus A rustic pressed cheese from the French Pyrenees, made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇮🇹 ItalySilter A brined, aged cow's-milk cheese from the Brescia mountains of Italy.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇧 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 🇦🇹 Austria and 2 moreVorarlberger Bergkäse A hard, nutty cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, aged for months or years.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇩🇪 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 🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreDubliner A hard, granular Irish cow's-milk cheese aged for at least a year.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreAura A Finnish cow's-milk blue cheese aged for six or twelve weeks.Cow · Blue · Salty 🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 moreSharr cheeseDjathë i Sharrit / Шарски сир A hard, salty cow and sheep milk cheese from the Šar Mountains of Kosovo.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 1 moreGran Moravia A hard, long-aged cow's-milk grana-style cheese from the Czech Republic.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandDer Scharfe Maxx A pungent Swiss hard cheese made from thermized cow's milk in Thurgau.Cow · Hard · Pungent and funky 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreAlpkäse A seasonal hard cow's-milk cheese made on high Alpine pastures in summer.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic 🇬🇧 United KingdomCheddar A pressed cow's-milk cheese from England, defined by the cheddaring process and long aging.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty

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.