How to serve up the perfect cheeseboard

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: How to serve up the perfect cheeseboard The cheeseboard is always welcome at any Christmas party. No matter how much turkey and trimmings you manage, leaving room for a bit of cheese is essential. But there’s a knack to presenting the right board. We caught up with Juliet Harbutt, one of the world’s leading cheese experts, at a fabulous tasting session laid on by Jones the Grocer recently. She also gave foodies some expert advice on all things cheese at a series of in-store workshops in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. If you missed her, here’s her top tips on presenting a Christmas cheeseboard… Is there a particular selection that would make up a classic, balanced board? Choosing one fabulous cheese or, if you want a spectacular cheeseboard, one cheese from each of the seven different types of cheese would give you a balanced, eclectic and diverse cheese selection. These seven types of cheeses are; fresh cheeses (no rind), aged fresh cheeses, soft white cheeses, semi-soft cheeses, hard cheeses, blue cheeses and flavour added cheeses. When would you recommend people buy their cheese, i.e how many days before serving? Cheese is like fruit; it continues to ripen when whole but deteriorates as soon as you cut it so if you are buying from a specialist shop you should buy a few days before you need them. If you buy from a supermarket there is no guarantee of their ripeness so buy soft cheeses as close to their best by date as possible. When is the best time to serve up the cheese? Before or after dessert? Always serve cheese BEFORE dessert as you should finish with sweet rather than savoury. How do you suggest serving or presenting the cheese? Serve cheese on a tray, wooden board or slate with plenty of space between the cheeses so they can be easily cut and decorate with a sprig of herbs or a few green leaves. Extras like chutney, biscuits and bread should be served separately. Would you recommend serving any particular preserves or food with the cheeseboard? I love crusty sour dough bread, apples, dried fruit and nuts. Do you have any advice for people looking to host a special cheese-tasting event? When hosting a party with cheese as your central point serve big chunks or individual cheeses and don’t offer any more than 10. Beer and cider go best with cheese but if you want to serve wine, choose your favourite. I would avoid Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Gamay. Do you have any advice on cheese in the fridge that has gone a bit mouldy? Cut off the mould and eat the rest! Jones the Grocer has special cheese rooms in store. Visit jonesthegrocer.com for further details. chris.fraser@7days.ae Read the original story at: How to serve up the perfect cheeseboard