How To Create The Best Christmas Cheese Board | Kitchen Aid

How do you put together the best Christmas cheese platter?Sarah, LudlowRule number one, Sarah, is don't buy your cheese too early. "It's like a bottle of wine - when you open a whole cheese, a lot of those flavors, smells and textures dissipate over time," says Andrew Swinscoe, who owns and runs The Courtyard Dairy near Settle, North Yorkshire. "You can buy waxed trucks now for Christmas, but cut pieces are best bought as close to the day as possible."

As for which cheese to choose, either play be safe with loads of crowd pleasers, be a little more adventurous or find a happy medium. Whatever your strategy, Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie in London says, "Always stick to cultivating flavors and textures to ultimate fulfillment at the end." But how, exactly, do you do this? Michelson suggests starting with “a fresh goat cheese with lovely acidity to neutralize and cleanse the palate, then a light, crumbly cheese like young Wensleydale, followed by a creamy, flowery Camembert or Brie de Meaux with a white rind” . Next is a "hard, fruity cheese" (think cheddar or a Gruyère), followed by a washed-rind cheese like Epoisses, "housing a chewy, rich, buttery texture", and finishes with a blue for " bring the cheese board together".

Swinscoe, meanwhile, experiments with the classics, like brie, cheddar, blues: "Look for something different in their families, just to mix it up.” For example, "instead of going for the stilton, go for the darling blue, which is a bit more interesting", while a classic brie could be swapped for a "really buttery and creamy" rollright. however, is not to get carried away."People buy a lot of different types of cheese and end up with lots of little leftover pieces that dry out,” Swinscoe says. “Four or five large cheeses is the best place to be." You could, however, simply hero a cheese: "A stately cheddar or stilton on its own with a glass of port or madeira is a classic," says Michelson, while Ed Smith, author of The Borough Market Cookbook, likes "a quarter of Stichelton and a sizable portion of old county". nut jellies and crackers. "To me, the trio of an oatcake-style cookie, a plain cracker and then a joker of your choice strikes the right balance between intrigue and reliability," says Smith, who also adds "a couple" of following items: grapes, figs, dried fruits, pickles, jellies and pastes. A loquat or plum jelly would be Swinscoe's first choice: "It's good for cutting through the richness, but you don't want to overpower the cheese, so nothing too vinegary, sharp or flavored."

However, perhaps the biggest question is when to serve your cheese. "Sometimes after a big meal, it's best to save the cheese board for a few hours later," says Michelson. And this tactic has the added bonus of being able to snack on said cheese throughout the evening, preferably, adds Swinscoe, with a glass of preserved perry. "It's sweet and low alcohol, so it'll be fine after all that red wine."

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