Our resident foodie, writer and creator of wonderful temptations, Francesca McKay, is back to help you with the delicious minefield of cheeseboards.

 

You could argue any cheese board is, indeed perfect, but use these tips to take yours to the next level…

 

Four is the magic number:

  • Soft cheese, such as this locally produced triple-cream cheese, Bix, from Oxfordshire.  Rich, smooth, and totally moreish
  • Blue cheese.  No cheeseboard is complete without a strong and creamy stilton.  The stilton of stiltons, the Colston Bassett has a complex yet smooth bite
  • Hard cheese.  A classic mature cheddar like this cave aged Wookey Hole offering which is rich, nutty and full of flavour 
  • Goats cheese, like this fresh, creamy soft cheese adds an acidity that pairs beautifully with fruit based or caramelised chutneys 

It’s not just the cheese that counts.  To truly up your cheeseboard, you need to pay attention to the accoutrements:

  • Sweet.  Thinly sliced apple, red grapes, dried dates and fruity chutneys balance nicely with tangy and acidic cheeses 
  • Sour.  Pickles add not only a sharp, sour flavour to cut through the rich creaminess but they also add crunch.  Cornichons, pickled walnuts and balsamic pickled onions like this Drivers option are all excellent choices 
  • Soft.  Chutneys add moisture and complexity to every bite.  From Diddly Squat’s piccalilli to Tracklements wide range of chutneys, we have a plethora of choice to lift your cheese choices 
  • Carbs.  Don’t forget every good cheese board contains vehicles for transferring said cheese to your mouth.  Thinly sliced and toasted Sourdough Revolution bread loaf or nibbles of Cartwright & Butler biscuits all work perfectly for the task at hand 
  • For the meat eaters we carry a variety of charcuterie meats for that little extra.  But if you really want to elevate your meat offering, why not select one of Diddly Squat’s famous (and enormous) pork pies!