Our family loves cheese, so I jumped at the chance to celebrate with Melissa’s Produce and Author of new cooking guide, ‘A Little Book of Cheese’/Chef Debbi Dubbs. I learned so much on creating the perfect cheese plate, and just want to share these tips with all my friends and family.
Cheese Basics
– Most of us are doing it wrong. Plastic wrap is not a cheese’s friend. It holds in moisture, and will make your cheese go bad super quickly. Once you buy cheese, remove the plastic wrap if necessary. Use a specialty cheese bag, or invest in parchment paper. If you have no other options, put your cheese in a Ziplock without sealing the bag to keep moisture at bay.
Creating the Perfect Cheese Plate
– Select 3-5 different cheeses for your plate. It’s more visually appealing to feature an odd number of cheeses.
– You do not want to leave your cheese at room temperature all the time. Take it out of the refrigerator about one hour before serving.
– It’s easiest to cut cheeses cuts when cold. Let it come to room temperature to serve it. All the flavors come out when cheese is served at room temperature.
– Recommend you try a Fontina. It’s an aged blue cheese with a soft ad crumbly texture. Accentuate blue cheese flavors by drizzling with honey.
– Broaden your definition of cheese plates. Consider adding all different kinds of foods to bring out the best in your cheeses. Some awesome additions could include charentais melon, honeycomb from Melissa’s Produce, kiwi berries (bite-sized kiwis. They grow on a vine in California and in new Zealand) roasted bell peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, fruity jams, sun dried tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine, currants, dried pineapple, apricots and blueberries, strawberries, ariona berries – the hot, new super food, grapes, colorful peppers, interesting crackers and breads.
– If you decide to add meat, then tuck it in at the very end. Some delicious meats to consider are Prosciutto, Spainish Iberico Jamon, and Salami.
– Visually balance your cheese board. Add a variety of colors and textures.
– Provide a fork or a knife for each cheese, and a pair of tongs for the fruit
– Look in your market for edible flowers. Just make sure to get flowers that you have not been sprayed.
Thanks to Melissa’s Produce for inviting us!
2 comments
I remember falling in love with cheese while i was visiting Holand as a 14 year old. Before for that i never really cared much for cheese now i totally love it 20 years later.
I have to check out this book, it looks amazing.