5 Tips For Serving Gourmet Cheese

Whether you are having a cheese party or simply want to serve a gourmet cheese course as part of your dinner party, it is important to know the best way to serve the cheeses. Correct preparation, plating and pairings can make the difference between a successful cheese tasting and one that doesn’t go quite as well.

Selecting The Cheeses

The first thing to do any time you are serving gourmet cheese is actually making the selections. The ideal is to give your guests a variety of tastes and textures to try and this means that you should go with cheeses that are slightly different from each other in this respect. You could try offering the creamy texture of fresh mozzarella, the harder texture of some well-aged cheddar and maybe add something your guests probably haven’t had before such as cheese curds. Ideally you want between three and five cheeses.

Cheese Temperature

Although you store your cheese in the refrigerator you never want to serve it cold, especially if it is gourmet cheese. The best thing to do is to remove them from your fridge around an hour before you plan on serving them. When the cheese reaches room temperature you and your guests will be better able to enjoy its flavor.

Save Bold Flavors

It is always tempting when serving gourmet cheeses to offer one with a bolder flavor such as Jurassic cheddar that has been aged for seven years or a strong Swiss. That is completely fine but the important thing to remember is to always serve the boldest cheese last. If you serve it too soon, your guests will still have the taste in their mouths and not be able to fully appreciate the other gourmet cheeses you have on offer.

Cutting

Not everyone has a large supply of cheese knives but if you plan on serving multiple types of gourmet cheese, it is time to make an investment. That is because you never want to cut different cheeses using the same knife as it can transfer the flavors, causing them to mix.

Wines

The classic beverage to serve with your gourmet cheese is wine but it is important to make your wine selecting correctly. Your wine should complement the cheese and also help cleanse the palette between different types. That means that the wine shouldn’t overpower the cheese and vice versa. If you aren’t sure how to pair your wine and cheese, look online or ask an expert for advice.