All about the baby cheeses: how to curate a festive cheeseboard to remember

9 hours ago 2

What should I serve on my Christmas cheeseboard?
David, via email
It will come as no surprise that Mathew Carver, founder of Pick & Cheese, The Cheese Barge and Rind, eats a lot of cheese, so in an effort to keep his festive selection interesting, he usually focuses on a specific area or region: “Last year, for instance, I spent Christmas in Scotland and served only local cheese.” Wales is up later this month. “I’m a creature of habit and tend always to go back to the cheeses I love, so this strategy makes me try new ones,” he explains – plus there’s nothing to stop you slipping in a classic such as comté in there too, because, well, Christmas.

Unless you’re going for “the baller move” of just serving one glorious cheese, Bronwen Percival, technical director of Neal’s Yard Dairy, would punt for three or four “handsome wedges, rather than slivers of too many options”. After all, few have “the time or attention for a board that needs a lot of explaining”. The trick is to find a balance between styles. “The perfect five would be a hard, a soft, a blue, a sheep and a goat’s,” says Carver, who factors in 50-60g of each cheese per person. “The general consensus is 30-40g, but at Christmas you need more than you can fathomably eat.”

As to what those cheeses are, Percival would champion classic regional cheeses that “have languished on the margins for too long”. First up, Stonebeck Wensleydale: “It’s incredibly creamy with a flavour that unfolds long after you’ve eaten it,” she says. “It will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about Wensleydale.” Next up, Appleby’s cheshire, which, Percival notes, is “succulent and mineral, with a gentle crumble and citrus brightness. A big wedge with salted cultured butter and crackers is the perfect cheese course.” Just add a glass of port or kombucha. Mrs Kirkham’s lancashire, meanwhile, would be a dream on Christmas Eve with gingerbread or gingersnaps, Percival adds. Carter, however, is very partial to a sheep’s cheese: “There’s not an awful lot of sheep’s milk cheese made in the UK,” he says, “but Wakebridge [made in Derby] is similar to a lancashire or cheddar, and it’s got a nice sweetness to it.”

But don’t stop there: you then need to accessorise, Percival says. That might be a plum and red onion chutney, a drizzle of good honey, or some spiced poached quinces, plus those all-important crackers (her go-tos are sourdough and oatcakes). Carter, on the other hand, prefers “something that’s a bit out of the box”. Think a not-too-strong goat’s cheese with rose Turkish delight, say, kimchi with stilton or garlic with brie. “Roast some garlic, then mix it with a bit of honey to make a paste. That, or a simple parsnip puree, would be really nice with a soft, bloomy rind cheese.”

While it’s arguably always the right time for cheese, Percival often goes early. “In the US, where I’m from, cheese often appears before the meal. It’s something to nibble with a glass of something fizzy, and its job is to whet the appetite, not finish the meal.” Even so, Carter is firmly in the post-dessert cheeseboard camp: “I like to finish Christmas dinner at about 4pm, eat chocolate for a few hours, then have cheese and port around 6pm. And then that’s Christmas Day done.”