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.
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · 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
🇫🇷 FranceCrottin de Chavignol
A small French goat cheese from the Loire Valley, aged to develop a white or blue rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇫🇷 FrancePouligny-Saint-Pierre
A pyramidal goat cheese from central France with a mouldy rind and crumbly white paste.Goat · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FrancePicodon
A small, spicy goat cheese from southern France with a rind that turns golden as it ages.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceSelles-sur-Cher
A small cylindrical goat cheese with a grey-blue mould rind from Centre-Val de Loire.Goat · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSainte-Maure de Touraine
A soft-ripened goat's milk cheese from Touraine, aged with a straw through its center.Goat · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FrancePélardon
A small, round soft-ripened goat cheese from the Cévennes mountains of southern France.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇷 TurkeyTulumtulum peyniri
A traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened inside a goatskin casing.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceChevrotin
A soft, washed-rind goat cheese from the Savoy Alps with a reddish rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceChabichou
A cylindrical French goat cheese with a natural rind, aged for two to three weeks.Goat · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceRigotte de Condrieu
A small, soft goat cheese from the Lyonnaise region with a white mold rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyCaciotta
A mild Italian cheese made from cow, sheep, goat, or buffalo milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇳🇴 NorwaySnøfrisk
A soft, spreadable Norwegian goat cheese with a fresh, sour taste.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyRobiola
A soft-ripened Italian cheese from Piedmont and Lombardy, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceCharolais
A soft, natural-rind goat cheese from Burgundy with an AOC and PDO status.Goat · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇫🇷 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
🇫🇷 FranceChabis
A soft, white-moulded goat cheese from western France, often spiced.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceCouronne lochoise
A soft, ash-coated goat cheese from the Loire Valley shaped like a ring.Goat · 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.
- Charolais: Jackydarne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pélardon: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Crottin de Chavignol: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pouligny-Saint-Pierre: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sainte-Maure de Touraine: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rigotte de Condrieu: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chabichou: Mark Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chevrotin: Benoît Prieur, CC0, source
- Picodon: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Selles-sur-Cher: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tulum: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caciotta: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Robiola: Andrea Marchisio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chavroux: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Cathare: Paul Munhoven, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Couronne lochoise: Thomon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source