The perfect Christmas Cheeseboard

December 20, 2023 2 min read

The perfect Christmas Cheeseboard

The best…. The greatest…. The ideal…. The ultimate…..  

When it comes to Christmas, we put A LOT of pressure on ourselves to come up with a consummate cheeseboard. For us, one of the highlights of Christmas is devising a cheeseboard to enjoy with our loved ones. It’s an opportunity to share old favourites or to introduce new cheeses you’ve wanted to try but not quite had the occasion to yet. Whilst we do offer predetermined cheese selections on our online shop, we always try to encourage our customers to add a personal touch and make up their own.

But what should be on it? & is there really a rule for putting a selection together?

Simply put, you should choose what you like. Achieve that & you’ve followed the most important rule of all.

However, there are a few guidelines that can help to assemble a good balance of variety & volume. One way to ensure a good breadth of options on your cheeseboard is to split cheeses into different ‘families’.

There are 6 main families of cheeseboard cheese.

Hard – Cheddar, Comte, Gruyere, Gouda, Parmesan
Semi-Hard – Caerphilly, Lancashire, St Nectaire, Tomme de Savoie
Blue– Stilton, Roquefort, Fourme d’Ambert
Bloomy– Brie de Meaux, Camembert, Coulommiers
Washed Rind– Mont d’Or, Epoisses, Langres, Munster
Soft Sheep or Goats – Crottin, Chabichou, Lingot des Causses, Perail
However, not all cheeses are so neatly classifiable and many straddle more than one of these groups.

Drop into our shop or market stalls where you’re encouraged to taste your way through these families or visit our online shop & feast your eyes. Then pick a favourite from each family you like & you can’t go far wrong.

Getting the amount right is subjective & no one wants to run out of cheese on Boxing Day! In December aim for 200 grams a head to give you the overall amount to buy & when in doubt, round up!

A 3 cheese combination is a great starting point for small cheeseboards but whilst, in theory, the sky’s the limit for big parties & events, you’ll find your cheeseboard becomes anarchic if you decide to have many over 7/8 different varieties. So do remember there’ll always be next time or next year to try other curiosities.

To delve deeper into this topic, our former colleague & fabulous friend Emma Young has crafted a book on the topic. The Cheese Wheel makes an excellent read & an excellent Christmas gift. It can be bought here alongside a cheese selection of her own curation.

Or drop into one of our shops or market stalls for a copy where you may even find Emma herself lending a festive hand from behind the counter!