If you’ve made your way to this blog, then I don’t need to explain the magic of the cheese plate to you. Whether it’s a carefully curated spread for a group or a quick solo endeavor after a long day, we can all agree that this is one of the most enjoyable and important categories of food presentation.
These days you can find a bazillion articles on how to craft a cheese plate, so I won’t waste your time with the obvious tips. Here’s some of my favorite ways to make a fun, unique and Instagramable cheese plate:
Consider Your Serving Dish
The truth is that the actual plate/dish/board that you put your cheese on doesn’t really have an effect on the cheese’s flavor or condition. No, a slate or marble board will not keep your cheeses colder for longer (yes, that is an actual question I’ve been asked before). My advice when it comes to cheese serving surfaces, like my advice with most things relating to cheese, is to have fun with it! Look for weirdly shaped boards of unique materials. Thrift stores and consignment shops are your friends, as they make excellent places to hunt for a cool, odd board that won’t break the bank. I have a variety of cheese serving dishes in my collection, but my favorite one is shaped like an isosceles triangle and made of two different types of marble. I bought it for an excellent price in a dusty thrift store on a weekend trip to Connecticut. It’s a totally unique and almost bizarre way to serve cheese; I love it!
Rethink Your Carb
Crackers and bread: we know them, we love them, we respect and appreciate all that they do to help us deliver cheese into our mouths with cleanliness and ease. However, it’s 2021 and we’re ready to take things to the next level. Cookies, pretzels and potato chips are all deliciously fair game for cracker replacements to add to your next cheese board, and the list goes on. Maybe a fresh, sliced strawberry is all you need to dip right into that gooey triple cream? Maybe the work week you’ve had calls for blue cheese to be spread directly on to squares of dark chocolate? It’s all good! Get out there and start experimenting with different vehicles for your cheese, and feel free to have a plate of crackers on deck for any purists that roll through.
Make it a ~Vibe~
Sure, a cheese plate is a display of food to be consumed for nourishment. But it can also be so much more than that! Let your cheese plates be cute, pretty, informative, creepy or whatever will contribute to the aura or theme of your event. This can be accomplished by adding theme-specific treats on to your board like peeps for Easter, chocolate gelt for Chanukkah or edible flowers to evoke feelings of Springtime. It’s also nice to incorporate a theme into your cheese plate by placing cleaned, non-edible items right on there. Put fake spiders on there for Halloween, or little farm animal figurines so people know what milk type they’re eating. Sometimes when I’m feeling mystical I like to add crystals onto my cheese plates to bless both my cheeses and guests with good energy. The art of the cheese board is all about enjoyment and indulgence, so pick a fun theme and run wild!