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.
🇫🇷 FranceTrou du Cru
A pungent washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, aged with local brandy.Cow · Bloomy rind · Pungent and funky
🇮🇹 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
🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 1 moreGran Moravia
A hard, long-aged cow's-milk grana-style cheese from the Czech Republic.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇨🇷 Costa Rica and 1 morePalmitoQueso palmito
A Costa Rican stretched-curd cheese shaped like a knotted ball of string cheese.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandDer Scharfe Maxx
A pungent Swiss hard cheese made from thermized cow's milk in Thurgau.Cow · Hard · Pungent and funky
🇨🇦 CanadaLe Riopelle de l'Isle
A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Isle-aux-Grues in Quebec.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 ItalyBela Badia
A soft cow's-milk cheese from the Puster Valley with small irregular holes.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh
🇨🇦 CanadaDragon's Breath Blue
A soft, wax-coated blue cheese from Nova Scotia with a pungent aroma and briny liquid.Cow · Bloomy rind · 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
🇬🇷 GreeceXynotyro
A hard, sour whey cheese from Greece made with sheep or goat milk.Mixed · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceCazelle de Saint AffriqueCazelle de Sant Afric
A soft, pungent sheep's milk cheese from the Aveyron department of France.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇬🇧 United KingdomLittle Derby
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from England with a washed red wine rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇨🇦 CanadaFriulano
A rindless Canadian cow's-milk cheese with a salty hazelnut flavour, aged to improve its character.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceCouronne lochoise
A soft, ash-coated goat cheese from the Loire Valley shaped like a ring.Goat · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇨🇦 CanadaLe Douanier
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a wash-rinsed rind and a central edible line from Quebec.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceAbbaye de Timadeuc CheeseFourmaj Abati Tinadeuc
A soft, salty cow's-milk cheese made by Trappist monks in Brittany.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
🇬🇧 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
🇪🇸 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
🇦🇹 AustriaMondseer
A semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a washed rind and mild sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyProvola
A semi-hard stretched curd cheese from southern Italy, often smoked or aged.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇬🇧 United KingdomBeenleigh Blue
A thin-rinded, foil-wrapped English sheep's-milk blue with a sweet, crumbly texture.Sheep · Blue · Sweet and caramel
🇨🇦 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarbourne Blue
A firm, spicy British goat's milk blue cheese aged for ten weeks.Goat · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreThe Laughing CowLa vache qui rit
A pasteurized processed cheese spread sold in individual wedges since 1921.Cow · Processed
🇫🇷 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
🇬🇧 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.
- Provola: Enzian44, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fromager d'Affinois: Eugene Peretz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Trou du Cru: Tristan Ferne, CC BY 2.0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Friulano: VerifiedCactus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pikauba: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Le Riopelle de l'Isle: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bela Badia: Boboseiptu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alpkäse: Guy Waterval, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Couronne lochoise: Thomon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abbaye de Timadeuc Cheese: Salsero35, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- The Laughing Cow: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, source
- Stinking Bishop: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Brie de Melun: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cheddar: Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0, source
- Palmito: LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Der Scharfe Maxx: Balise42, CC BY 4.0, source