A wonderfully done cheese tray is a beautiful thing..and it doesn’t take much to take this classic to the next level. We’ll look at some of the common mistakes and how we can improve..
Basically the four most common areas we can work on to put some WOW into your cheese tray are:
1. These are usually prep’d ahead of time. Just make sure you cover with plastic wrap so the cheese doesn’t dry out (most people do this but we want mention it anyway to cover all the bases).
2. Take the cheese tray out of the frig ahead of time. Leave the plastic wrap on but allow the cheese time to come to room temperature. A cheese will taste best at room temperature.
3. Mix things up. That means flavors, textures & colors. Have sharp and mild, spreadable & firm textures, solid cheeses and Swiss…
4. Have a variety of crackers and some small pieces of fresh flat breads. The crackers and bread should be of excellent quality and understated in flavor so as not to overpower the cheese.
5. Serve it on an attractive board. Most people like precut…which is fine but keep an eye on it to make sure things aren’t drying out as the night progresses. Some like to have a few blocks for the guests to serve themselves. Your call on whether your crowd should be trusted with sharp objects.
6. Break the cheese tray into halves and serve in different areas. Nothing worse than a Rugby Scrum occurring around the cheese tray.
