Cheese Board Ideas

Charming Cheese Board Ideas

Is there anything more charming than a cheese board? You take the world's most amazing food – a chunk of cheese – and multiply it by three to six varieties. You add a spread of complements – nuts and olives, fruits and veggies, mustards and jams – to charm your palate with a feast of flavor that's all at once sweet, salty, savory, and spicy. Perhaps you top it off with a sip of syrah or sauvignon blanc, or a pinch of prosciutto and pepperoni. And the best thing about a cheese board? No two are alike. Every spread can be a brand-new adventure, exploring uncharted cheese board ideas.

In Wisconsin, every cheese board is an exciting flavor expedition. That's because we always start with the best cheese board ideas – otherwise known as Wisconsin Cheese. When you produce the tastiest, most award-winning, highest quality cheese in the universe, coming up with unforgettable cheese board ideas is as easy as can be.

Take a peek at the pages of our websites to meet some amazing Wisconsin Cheeses. Or browse our recipe index for takes on a rustic charcuterie board, breakfast charcuterie board, and other cheese and charcuterie ideas. Order a special cheese delivery and cheese gifts for all the cheese lovers in your life.

Or scroll down for our favorite tips and cheese board ideas that will help you build a board to charm the taste buds off your guests.

Our Favorite Cheese Board Ideas

Here are some of our favorite cheese board ideas to create a spread that will impress and satisfy your guests.

Priority #1: taste and texture
The key to a mouth-watering cheese board is to deliver a great mix of fabulous flavors and tantalizing textures. When shopping for cheeses, include a soft cheese like burrata or mascarpone, a semi-soft cheese like havarti or monterey jack, a semi-firm cheese like cheddar or gouda, and a hard cheese like parmesan or asiago. A blue cheese like gorgonzola or blue cheddar will add a pungent spike of flavor, and a crumbly cheese like feta or ricotta salata will boost your texture profile. Be sure to include pieces of mild cheddar cheese or string cheese if kids will be among the grazers. If you're including charcuterie on the board, look for whole-muscle cuts like prosciutto, cured sausages like salami, and forcemeats like chicken liver pâté.

What surface will you cover?
Some of the most fun cheese board ideas are the surfaces you can use for arranging your cheese and charcuterie. Wooden cutting boards and marble serving platters are the go-to choices. A piece of slate is a versatile surface, as you can label each ingredient in chalk. A table covered with butcher paper also makes a fine surface for an entire charcuterie table. Long wooden planks, tall cake stands, or a mismatched collection of plates or serving trays can also make visually interesting cheese boards.

Think in three dimensions
A cheese board that has height and levels is far more visually interesting than a board that's laid out flat. Choose a tall centerpiece – a large bowl of fruit, a bouquet of flowers, bottles of wine, or a jar with breadsticks – and lay out your board around it. Use jars, containers, goblets, or glasses to create height and different layers.

Let the flavor bloom
Be sure to set your cheeses out at least 30 minutes before serving time to allow them to come to room temperature – they'll taste better that way. Give each cheese its own knife to avoid mixing flavors. Positioning the cheeses near the edge of the board will make them easier to cut. And cutting several slices of the harder cheeses ahead of time will make it easier for guests to plate up their favorite items.

Wisconsin: Where the Best Cheese Board Ideas are Born

Wisconsin is known for many things. Along with our famed Dairyland and our frozen tundra, Wisconsin is also known as the place where great cheese board ideas are born.

See, our cheesemakers have been improving Old World recipes and inventing new kinds of cheeses for 180 years. They've won more awards for their cheese than any other state or nation in the world. And when you're this good at making cheese, you're always looking for more ways to share it. And that's how the best cheese board ideas get hatched.

So, next time you're planning a cheese board for a gathering or dinner party, just lay your hands on a few chunks of Wisconsin's finest and see where your imagination takes you. We're sure your guests – and your taste buds – will thank you.