Cheese board help

[Tiredsahm84]

What's your cheese board essentials?

It's for Christmas Day evening to be served as part of a dessert buffet for about 6 adults

After cheeses, cracker & chutney recommendations

Dh family, I'm happy just with a bit of cheddar so I'm useless!!

[totallyradllama]

I want some cheese now*
*
I should get this on a t shirt

[Courtney555]

As PP have said, don't buy a selection box, and fruit in cheese is a definite no.

I'm a bit similar to you in that I'm not a huge cheese eater other than Cheddar (black bomber is a great one) and perhaps a brie. However DF, DM and DS are somewhat the cheesy connoisseurs

We do quite a fancy cheeseboard each year. From memory, Cornish yarg, brie, b.bomber, stinking Bishop (award winning blue cheese, but it truly honks and I judge the rest of them for eating it), a very mature red Leicester, thinly sliced aged parmesan or pecorino.

Add red and white grapes, plum chutney, gentleman's relish.

I love the ideas of figs from this thread too. I'll be pinching that.

If I have DS with me, he picks all the cheese, as he knows what he's looking for. If it's just me on the Christmas grocery shop, then I go to Waitrose, to the cheese counter, and ask for the top 6 cheeses people have been buying for their cheeseboards. That's always been really well received. It's not a cheap way to do it, we can be anywhere between £35 and £60 depending on which cheeses we go for, plus all the trimmings, but it lasts for a while in the fridge over the following week. Depending on how "all out" you go on Christmas dinner, a well put together cheeseboard can be a beautiful centrepiece, with quite a wow factor as you carry it through.

Lagoulet do a gorgeous little set of cheese knives.

Another thing I agree with PP is buy bigger bits. Nothing looks sadder than a sparse cheeseboard with little slivers of this and that. You'll use up the leftovers easily.

[CornishMaid1]

I'm Cornish so most of ours is Cornish.

There has to be at least a hard cheese, a soft cheese and a blue. We would go for a good Davidstow cheddar (the black bomber is good too if non-Cornish), a St Endellion brie (left out it is beautiful creamy gooeyness) and Cornish Blue.

We don't stick a fruit-in-cheese as don't like then but would then pop in two others. Often a different hard like a red Leicester type and then a really special one. Eppoisses or something equally lovely.

We would go with a gruyere and comte too, especially for a nice toastie.

Can't help with chutneys as other than
Branston pickle with cheddar sometimes I just like the cheeses as they are.

[NoWordForFluffy]

I love Blacksticks Blue.

And I agree that fruit in cheese is very wrong. Certainly not my thing!

[AuchAyeTheNo]

Black bomber is an outstanding cheddar.

Best thing to do is go to a cheese shop and have a taste session. My favourite bit of Christmas!

[ClientListQueen]

These are delicious, especially the garlic and herb one. My dad was "why have you brought cheese... oh my god, give me some more of that"

http://www.lancashirebombs.co.uk/cheese.html

Also blacksticks blue is really lovely

[PersonaNonGarter]

Fruit in cheese is wrong.

I meant to add that pickled walnuts are delicious but last year Father Christmas brought pickled figs from Valvona & Crolla. They were amazing.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

So many fruit-in-cheese people.

[leonardthelemming]

Barber's Cruncher Red Leicester from Sainsbury's has a better flavour than some we've tried.

We usually add - in addition to Cheddar, Blue Stilton and Brie - a sweet cheese such as Emmental or Jarlsberg.

[cometothinkofit]

I want some cheese now.

[quitecontrary123]

You are best sticking to 3 or 4 cheeses and getting a decent piece of each. I would probably get a nice Cheddar, Shropshire blue, brie and then something like Old Amsterdam or Morbier.

[feelinghelplesstoday]

Thank you @NoWordForFluffy I shall give it a go 👍 x

[Sooverthemill]

@Thehollyandtheirony love quince paste. Even made it myself one year

[NoWordForFluffy]

Here goes @feelinghelplesstoday:

www.alifeofgeekery.co.uk/2013/09/sweet-sticky-chilli-jam.html

[feelinghelplesstoday]

@NoWordForFluffy could you share your home made chilli jam re Joe please? I've never had great success x

[NoWordForFluffy]

You don't NEED quince jelly if you don't like it!

We use homemade chilli jam.

[Thehollyandtheirony]

You need quince jelly. I like it with manchego.
Thinly sliced apple and (hard) pear work well as accompaniments.

[WellardAvocado]

This is just my own personal idea of an amazing cheeseboard;

A really strong crunchy cheddar. Strongest you can get!

Brie - bought at least 1 week in advance so it is at least partly ripe

Stilton. A regional red blue cheese may be acceptable.

Roule

Applewood smoked cheddar

Something boozy/festive - stilton with whiskey and apricots perhaps.

An onion cheese - something with pickled or caramelized onions in.

Chutneys; caramelised red onion, Branston, and something festive and fancy like cranberry, orange and port

Red grapes

Celery

Sliced apple, using lemon juice to keep from going brown

Fruit cake sliced into small fingers

Carrs cheese melts, and digestives.

[Thehagonthehill]

I like the large Carr's Water biscuits.At Christmas I look for different local cheeses and make some tasty discoveries that way.

[PersonaNonGarter]

Maximum 3 cheeses:

Blue - Stilton for Christmas
Hard
Soft

Do you know about the amazing Waitrose 1 cheese biscuits? They might not be for everyone because they are quite chunky. We think they are delicious. The Chestnut and Celery Seed ones are my favourite.

[tinysnickersaremyfavourite]

I would go for
Cheddar - I like Glastonbury Twanger
Red Leicester - a good strong one, the 'premium' one they sell in aldi is actually very good
Stilton or Roquefort
Shropshire Blue
A goats cheese
A good mature brie or camembert
A really good comté if I can get one

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Thanks, Buck. Will try to track some down.

[Sooverthemill]

And ripe Gorgonzola will divide the room ( I love it)

[Sooverthemill]

If you are taking cheese to people who like a cheeseboard as a treat, that size pack isn't very big. You could go to teh cheese counter in a large supermarket or a poncy deli ( but poncy prices too). We get cheese from a specialist cheese shop or online. I would not be surprised to pay £20+ for the cheese plus crackers etc. But you must buy what your budget allow. 3 decent size wedges and grapes and crackers would be fine. A strong cheddar, a French soft maybe and a bit of Stilton would be lovely. Cheese is like wine, people like different things

[Samosaurus]

A lot of good suggestions on here. I would avoid the prepackaged stuff as cheese always tastes best when it is freshly cut, so go to the cheese counter, or better still a specialist cheese shop if you have one near you. Quince jelly and oat cakes are must-have accompaniments in my household.