How to Create the Perfect Cheese Platter

Say cheeeeese!

If you’re like me, a beautiful cheese platter is more than enough to make you smile! They’re always one of my favorite additions to any party! They are easy to spread around on different side tables and encourage mingling. Plus they are always a crowd pleaser! By selecting the perfect combination of cheeses and adding some fun signs or labels, you can spruce up any cheese platter!

Selecting the Cheese:

If serving as an appetizer/hors d’oeuvres, plan on about 1-2 ounces per person.

When picking out the cheese for your platter, include a variety of flavors and textures of cheeses, including aged, fresh, soft, firm, and blue cheese. I usually like to include one or two (depending on the size of your party and your cheese platter) from each category to ensure a good variety.

Here are just a couple of my favorites:

Aged: White Cheddar, Orange Aged Gouda
Fresh: Chevre (Goat Cheese)
Soft: Brie, Camembert
Firm: Manchego, Parmigiano Reggiano
Blue: Gorgonzola, Stilton

Accompaniments:

Include a variety of accompaniments with your cheese platter and arrange without crowding the cheeses.

Bread Selection: Include a selection of plain breads and baguettes such as sourdough or French bread. Flavored and herbed breads and crackers overwhelm the cheese flavors, so neutral crackers and breads are the best.
Sweet Sides: Include fresh fruits (green apple slices, grapes, etc.) or dried fruits (apricots, pears or the like).
Salty Sides: Salty accompaniments such as cured meats (salami and prosciutto) and candied nuts are also perfect.

Additional Tips:

Take the cheese out of the refrigerator one hour before you plan on serving. Serving cold cheese diminishes the tastes, so it is best to serve at room temperature.
Provide individual knives for each type of cheese. Flavors will start mixing between the cheeses if you use the same knife for all. Check out these adorable cheese knives that I got at the T Shop in Dallas!