Please help me create a cheeseboard:-)

[Lemondrama67]

Hi please could you all educate me on cheese. Seriously ive only ever eaten mild grated cheese, mozzarella and edam and wensleydale. So I'm looking to create a cheese board this christmas. I like mild cheeses ( I think lol) not that I've tried many lol I no I dont like wensleydale if that helps also help with chutneys and wine that would compliment these and anything else you put with a cheeseboard because I honestly have no idea what I'm doing lol.
thank you in advance

Have some mild cheddar to be safe
Brie is mild and creamy,
White stilton is crumbly and mild.
Gouda is a hard cheese, a bit like edam but nuttier.
If you want to try a blue cheese dolcelatte is not too strong and nice and creamy. Or a blue stilton isn't too strong
Do you like garlic? Roule is a soft cream cheese with garlic

I wouldn't bother with cheese that has fruit bits in, it looks nice but IMO doesn't taste good.

You'll need some crackers... Get a selection like Jacobs crackers for cheese.

Bunch of grapes, decent bottle of red, coffees, chocolates, liquors... Stay nibbling at the table for a couple of hours

If you are catering for cheese lovers it's very unlikely that they would like mild cheese, sorry. If it's just for yourself of course, the suggestions above are spot on.

Jarlsberg and Comte are both mild and delicious, and still good for cheese lovers.

Cambazola and Port Salut are also good, and available in all supermarkets.
The little waxed truckles of cheese (good ones in Morrisons) are great if you stack 2 or 3 together, and you don't have to open them if you have too much cheese, they'll keep.
I love quince jelly with cheese, caramelised onion chutney, fig chutney (or fresh figs) and a few nuts thrown artfully around the board always look good.

Snofrisch (something like that!) is a lovely goats cheese they sell at the deli counter in Waitrose. Texture is similar to Edam, not a strong flavour.

I love quince jelly with cheese, caramelised onion chutney, fig chutney (or fresh figs) and a few nuts thrown artfully around the board always look good.

Ooh we've found quince paste to try this year 😊

You have to have a goat's cheese!

Sainsbury’s do a delicious quince jelly in their taste the difference range!

Blacksticks Blue
A nice strong cheddar

Or pop to Waitrose and ask at their cheese counter as they always helpful and normally have delicious Christmas special cheeses!!

Manchego or Iberico for hard cheese
Cremant or St Andre or caprice de deux for soft cheese that is much nicer than Brie
Boursin is always a crowd pleaser
Really good cheddar truckle (in wax)
Mild blue cheese

Fancy crackers - not Jacob's or anything if that. Think farm shoppy, rosemary and olive oil or similar. More than one type and preferable different shapes.

Depending on when it is being eaten then maybe bread (baguettes) if it's at a meal time.

Caramelised onion chutney is excellent as is fig jam. Chilli jam also lovely with cheese.

Fresh figs or grapes look nice and cut through the cheese.

If it's a fancy Christmas thing some really nice chocolate truffles will go down well too.

Who is going to eat the cheese board? Because I agree with pp that cheese lovers are unlikely to like mild cheeses.

Comte as suggested above is always a winner. I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t like it, cheese connoisseurs and cheese novices alike.

When constructing a cheese board I usually go for 1 hard cheese (Comte), 1 blue cheese (Stilton is pretty safe and usually good), 1 soft cheese and 1 goats cheese. Personally I’m not a fan of Brie - it can be the most amazing and gooey delicious cheese if you get a good one but supermarket Brie often doesn’t have any taste. Pie d’Angloy, which is available in most supermarkets is a good alternative imo.

A cheeseboard for you, or for a wider audience that includes people that like cheese? Have you got a budget in mind?

In general, you want a range of texture or flavour:

• A mild cheese
• A mature cheese
• A soft cheese (brie, Camembert, etc.)
• A blue cheese
• A sheep or goat cheese

If in doubt, cheat. Somewhere like Pong (https://www.pongcheese.co.uk/) can provide you with a pre-chosen board. Something like the Best Of British (https://www.pongcheese.co.uk/buy/the-best-of-british-tasting-box/) or the Christmas Explorer (https://www.pongcheese.co.uk/buy/the-pong-christmas-explorer-box/). And the supermarkets will all have cheeseboard platters, although they tend to be quite bland - which could be a good thing for some.

Port is traditional alongside a cheeseboard, or a good bottle of red. Oatcakes and salted butter, chutney, grapes/fruit as you think appropriate.

Thank you all. These answers are very helpful. I forgot to say it's just for me lol no one else in the house likes cheese...but if I stick with mild they may be converted as longs it's not stinky lol.

No one else in the house likes cheese?!!
What?!! Who are these people?! 🧀

You can get flavoured cheddar, apple, onion and garlic, dried apricots etc. Emmenthal is nice . If you want something different ewe's cheese are usually mild.grapes go well with cheese

Not normal, that's for sure.

Port salut is lovely
A decent english brie - french tends to be much stronger in taste and smell
I refuse to eat mild cheddar as it tastes like nothing - a decent mature like blackbomber is much better on a cheese board

Do you have a nice farm shop near you as they often have a good selection of cheeses?

Most importantly decent crackers and nice chutneys - waitrose do a good quince paste, I really like Sainsburys apple and pear spiced chutney. I love cornish wafers but you want a selection of cracker types.

Carrs Water biscuits are my favourite - that is my recommendation. They don't overpower any cheese . Some people like some nice bread or just the cheese on its own.

I agree with pp Carrs are really scrumy crackers.
I've treated myself to a cheese order from these guys, they give really good descriptors and background information on each cheese they stock.

https://www.finecheese.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTCxMQXSol2nYk8mK5cue081eQrSrUP3few_q_RWyObO1vQVHo3_jJKRoCQ7AQAvD_BwE

Lots of interesting recommendations for specific cheeses have already been posted so I won’t add to those (but I will try some of them out!).

You need at least 3 cheeses for a cheese board - hard cheese, soft cheese, stinky/blue or ‘interesting’ cheese.

If you go up to 5 cheeses you need - mild hard cheese, mature hard cheese, soft cheese, stinky/blue cheese and a ‘different’ or ‘interesting’ cheese such as a goats’ cheese.

And then you need crackers - start with water crackers because everyone will eat those. Then add a herby cracker with a different texture. Also consider bread.

Throw in a chutney. Fruit based ones are popular but my personal favorite is caramel used onion.

And scatter some grapes or nuts or dried fruit around to pretty the cheese board up.

Enjoy!

In that case I'd be tempted to get a mild cheddar, maybe a smoked cheese, something like a nice red leicester (with a slightly nutty taste rather than the plastic processed ones), a brie and something like a port salut.

Add plenty of grapes, quartered figs, some dried fruit, to the cheese board and have some different biscuits / crackers and good butter.

Have a look in the gift sections for small gift sets of chutney so that you're not wasting money on big jars.

Your aim is to make it look appetising enough for the cheese heathens others to pick at and maybe try something different.

I'd also add a chunk of fruitcake but appreciate that's divisive.

I wouldn’t waste the money if none of you actually like cheese. It’s not cheap.
Emmental is the next step up. Or Jarlsberg. Inoffensive nice on a cracker or cook with it if no one eats it.
Pie d’Angloy, is a really nice soft cheese that’s got more flavour than Brie but not as overpowering as Camembert. Just get that to try a more exciting cheese.

Comte and other hard cheese is great but frankly it’s not pushing any boundaries and costs more than cheddar.

Op I love a cheese board and mostly like milder cheeses. Can't do blue cheese. Wensleydale with cranberry, mature cheddar, brie, Lancashire, love a bit of boursin. Cannot beat a caramelised red onion chutney, cracker selection box eg Jacobs. I'd put with a merlot or port. Yum.

This is perfect and stops me having to comments.

I'm round yours.

I like kaltbach creamy which is available on the cheese counter at waitrose. I find it mild but with a lot more interest than a supermarket mild cheddar. You could ask to taste it perhaps and see what you think.

I like a carrs water biscuit and also like the kaltbach with the Peter's yard sourdough crackers, plus some chilli jam which is probably blasphemy but meh.

There are some mild hard goat cheeses which are delicious too, if you have a cheese shop locally it might be worth popping in now to see what they have and taste a couple. Near Christmas they will no doubt be too manic for much in the way of tastings and advice.

Oh and vignotte. Evidently I like cream in my cheese!

You need a good selection of hard, soft, strong and mild.

You also need good accompaniments like quince jelly for the manchego, red onion with the blue cheeses and fig relish with Brie or Camembert. If you have goat’s cheese, add some quartered figs.

Really good grapes and keep the biscuits very plain and good quality. Let the cheese do the talking.