Charcuterie boards are the OG of appetizers. The best boards combine different textures and flavors onto one plate, so you’ll need to make sure you have a variety of cheeses to work with when preparing your platter. We’ve prepared this list of the perfect cheese choices for your charcuterie board so that you don’t have to worry about making the wrong selection from a seemingly endless list of cheese options.
Hard Cheese
To start, many charcuterie boards feature a hard cheese to pair with softer fruits and crunchy breads. Some hard cheese options that will taste great with many of the flavors in your charcuterie board include Parmesan, aged Gouda, and Asiago cheeses. Additionally, many types of hard cheese don’t need to be refrigerated, including Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano. This makes them convenient to buy, store, and serve as part of your charcuterie board.
Soft Cheese
You should also include soft cheeses to contrast with the tougher breads and crunchy nuts commonly featured in charcuterie. Soft, creamy cheeses add an almost sweet flavor and a unique texture to the mix. Pair some soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, burrata, and Muenster with the tougher textures. You can even include a dish of spreadable goat cheese for crackers, bread, or finger foods.
Crumbly Cheese
A third great cheese option for charcuterie is crumbly cheeses. Once again, this type of cheese adds a unique texture to your board as well as a unique appearance. Crumbly cheese offers the perfect finishing touch to your board. Two notable crumbly cheeses are perfect for charcuterie: feta and goat cheese. Goat cheese might not sound appealing at first glance, but give it a chance—you might discover a new favorite.
These are some of the perfect cheese choices for your charcuterie board. Whichever you choose, these cheeses pair well with a variety of flavors, so you can’t go wrong with adding any of them to your board.
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Love this!!! Charcuterie boards are so much fun!
And I love your letter today – I got a bit of a lump in my throat. Such a painful, stressful year. 2021 couldn’t end fast enough. If there was ever a time to look forward and put the past behind us, it’s now!
I wish you, Paul, Ruth, and your entire families a happy, healthy, joyful new year!
Great to hear from you, Laurel. Happy new year to you and Dave. We miss you.