How do I put together the best Christmas cheeseboard?
Sarah, Ludlow
The number one rule, Sarah, is not to buy your cheese too early. “It’s like a bottle of wine – when you open a whole cheese, a lot of those flavours, smells and textures dissipate with time,” says Andrew Swinscoe, who owns and runs The Courtyard Dairy near Settle, North Yorkshire. “You could buy some waxed truckles now for Christmas, but cut pieces are best bought as close to the day as possible.”
As for which cheese to go for, either play it safe with a spread of crowd-pleasers, be a little more adventurous or find a happy medium. Whatever your strategy, Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie in London says, “Always stick to growing the flavours and textures to an ultimate flourish at the end.” But how, exactly, do you do this? Michelson suggests starting with “a fresh goat’s cheese with nice acidity to neutralise and cleanse the palate, then a crumbly, light cheese such as young wensleydale, followed by a creamy, bloomy, white rind camembert or brie de meaux.” Next up is a “hard, fruity cheese” (think cheddar or a gruyere-style), followed by a washed-rind cheese such as epoisses, “housing a mellow, rich, buttery texture”, and finish with a blue to “bring the cheeseboard together”.
