Preparing and Serving a Cheese Platter
As a general guide line, for buying the cheeses, you can consider
approximately three ounces per person if it’s an appetizer and
around
6 ounces per person if it’s a main event.
Cheese platters will look better if you use an odd number of cheeses
like 3, 5, 7, etc., rather than even. This is a suggestion, you can
serve 4 or 6 cheeses per plate if you like.
Choose the cheeses that will differ in flavor from mild to strong, in
texture from soft to firm and milk type such as cow, goat and
sheep, you can also try for a variety in colors and shapes as well.
Place the cheeses clockwise down and around, evenly spaced, from
the mildest to most pungent and complex flavor. For an extra
appealing presentation you can also theme your cheese plate by
country, region or milk type.
When cutting the cheeses, use a separate knife for each cheese to
avoid cross contamination, if you will provide them for the guests,
prefer the ones with holes on the blade, to avoid the soft and
semi-firm cheeses from sticking to the knife, another option for the
soft ones is the cheese wire. If you are serving creamy cheeses
don't forget the spoons. Always serve ripen cheeses, closest to the
"best before" date, to ensure their optimum flavor.
Label your cheeses so your guests will remember those they
enjoyed most.
Make your own labels and tape onto toothpicks or cut skewers.
When choosing a platter make sure it fits the amount of cheese you
will serve, also consider some space among the cheeses. Prefer
plain platter of natural material such as marble, slate, glass or even
wood, if possible decorated with vine leaves, flowers and/or fruits,
and make sure the cheeses are aligned with the platter edge.
By adding accompaniments to your selection of cheeses you can
intense or even change the flavor of the cheese. You can serve
your selection of cheeses accompanied with simple bread or
crackers with no strong flavor, as instead of purify the palate, they
would overwhelm the taste of the cheese. Toasted nuts, some fresh
fruits such as figs, apples, pears or even some dried fruits are also
a good choice as accompaniments. Some olives and blue cheeses
make a great combination. Membrillo is a quince paste that goes
wonderfully with Spanish sheep's milk cheese.
You can serve the accompaniments in a separate platter or in the
same platter as the cheeses just in between them.
Take the cheeses out of the refrigerator at least 1 to 1½ hours
before serving time, to allow them to come to room temperature
which will help the flavors develop further.
For the beverages you can follow the below guide lines:
For non-alcoholic beverages, you can think about
20 oz per person.
For alcoholic beverages, you can plan approximately 2 glasses of
wine, 3 beers or 2 mixed drinks per person.
If your choice is for wine we suggest a light blanc or a medium
bodied red wine.
If you have any questions or want some suggestions about our
cheese plate presentation, please contact us at
feedback@selectcheeses.com and our cheese experts will be
pleased to help you.
