How to make the perfect cheese platter

The perfect cheese platter

Composition: one hard cheese + one soft cheese + one unusual cheese.

Innings: on simple toasted toast, croutons, fruit chips.

Additives: one sweet food + one salty food + one sweet sauce + one salty sauce.

But this benchmark does not mean that a great cheese platter will not come out of fewer varieties. Let's take a look at how to make this treat from one, two and three types of cheese in order.

Choosing cheese

One type of cheese

The secret of a single cheese dish is simple: choose either cheese - everyone's favorite, or special cheese. If you have access to such products, according to the canon, the following varieties can be included in the cheese plate.

The cheeses everyone loves: spicy English cheddar or soft French brie, cheeses like parmesan.

Special cheeses: spicy blue cheese or smelly but delicious Taleggio (semi-soft Italian cheese with a crust).

Two types of cheese

For the right cheese plate of two varieties, you need one hard and one soft cheese. Here are the top picks in these categories.

Hard cheeses: cheddar, gouda, dubliner, edam, parmesan and Spanish manchego cheese.

Soft cheeses: Italian burrata cheese (creamy "cousin" of mozzarella), delicate camembert with a mushroom flavor, fruity taleggio, ricotta (which is easy to make at home), brie.

Three types of cheese

Three cheeses are perfect. You will need hard and soft cheese, which we talked about above, as well as some kind of cheese with a twist.

Unusual cheeses: Norwegian brown brunost cheese, chocolate cheese, lavender and fennel cheese or Danish dill hawarty cheese. Also, smelly varieties can be attributed to cheeses with a twist: they are less original, but insanely tasty and always go with a bang. In general, it is best to contact the sellers in the cheese shop and say that you want to surprise your guests with something. They will be happy to help you with your choice.

If you can't get these varieties, pick up alternatives from the cheeses available in your area. Or take a different approach by grabbing a plate one at a time from the milk of different animals: cow, sheep, and goat.

What to combine cheeses with

When you've chosen cheeses, you might want to consider tasty additions. You will need something sweet, something salty, sweet and tangy sauces, as well as bread and crackers.

Fresh fruits and berries

Apples, grapes, pears, blueberries, strawberries, any berries and fresh figs compensate for the rich salty taste of dairy products with sourness and refresh the palate.

Dried fruits

Tart and sweet dried cherries, cranberries, and dried apricots add a bright note to the taste of cheeses. Dried fruits are a good choice for a plate of several varieties, as they are equally harmonious with both spicy and soft cream cheeses.

Olives

Instead of buying a single jar of olives, buy olives of different sizes and ripeness by weight. Just remove the bones first, or do not forget to warn your guests about them.

Pickles

The main pickles that can be offered for a cheese platter are gherkins. They have a pleasant sourness, and they look very cute.

Meat products

Do not get carried away so that the cheese plate does not turn into a meat one. Pick one quality meat and let it set off the cheeses. If you are serving a lot of rich, salty or spicy cheeses, choose something calm, such as a good cooked sausage (ideally like an Italian mortadella). But the cheese plate will not be spoiled by spicy salami, rich meat or liver pate.

Nuts

Cheese can be served with a mixture of nuts, candied walnuts, pistachios or almonds. Lovers of unusual tastes can be encouraged to experiment, for example, combining almonds with soy sauce and wasabi.

Honey and jam

If you haven't tried cheese with honey yet, it's time to do it: they are made for each other. Jams and jellies will also create a wonderful sweet effect, especially those with a tart taste.

Mustard and vinegar

Cheese, as a rich-flavored, fatty dairy product, needs acid, and grainy mustard can satisfy this need. You can also drizzle the cheese with lingering thick vinegar or pomegranate syrup.

Bread and crackers

These products are needed to "transport" the cheese into your mouth, and not distract from its taste. Small crunchy toasts, crackers or chips, including those made from fruits, will do the job.

The best combinations of cheeses and additives

The most important thing is to beat the cheese correctly if you are settling on one variety. You will need at least one product to go with it to make lone cheese the star of the evening. Here are some possible combinations.

1. Dubliner + apple + toasted baguette

Dubliner is a hard Irish cheese made from cow's milk, somewhat reminiscent of cheddar and parmesan. It is at the same time spicy, with nutty notes, sweetish and salty. Since it has such a complex and rich taste, simple toast will be enough for it. Thin slices of green apple will help freshen the receptors so that you don't feel oversaturated with dairy products and eat more cheese.

2. Parmigiano Reggiano + Balsamic Vinegar

Sprinkle or dip Parmesan in aged balsamic vinegar to enhance the spicy flavor.

3. Cambozola + fruit chips + honey

Cambozola is a triple French soft camembert cheese plus Italian gorgonzola. It combines the soft aroma of blue cheese and a whole bunch of creamy shades. Cambozola works well with fig, olive and cranberry chips. Honey is also suitable for it, as with any blue cheese.

Also a great solution for a single variety cheese plate is to bake or marinate the cheese. Try serving brie en croute, goat cheese with tomato sauce, marinated mozzarella or feta (and in our reality, feta cheese).

Based on these guidelines, you can experiment and create your own snack options from the cheeses available in your area. Please write in the comments about the good domestic cheeses that can be included in this dish and the overseas cheeses that you like.