Farmstead Cheeses and Wines

Thursday, February 16, 2006

The Cheese Plate

I’ve written yet another article in the Alameda Sun, this one on how to construct a cheese plate. I hope that you enjoy it.

The Cheese Course
Almost everyday, someone comes into my shop and asks for help in putting together a Cheese Plate. A lot of these folks seem daunted at the prospect. It’s understandable – there’s so many funny sounding names, textures, and milk sources.

Putting together a cheese course or cheese plate can be a lot of fun - whether you’re selecting cheeses by yourself at the supermarket, or with the aid of a cheese monger at a specialty store.

Cheese has been around for thousands of years, from many regions, climates and cultures. Those funny names are just a reflection of time and place, and shouldn’t put you off from experimenting a bit. Emmentaler (or Swiss Cheese), comes from the town of Emmental in Switzerland, Fontina was originally made in the Italian town of Fontina Val d’Aosta, and Gorgonzola is named after the Italian valley where it is produced.

The cheese course is just that - served after dessert in Europe, and as a pre-appetizer in America, served while folks are standing around chatting before being seated.

The European version is an individually plated beast, with slices of each cheese artfully arrayed with fruit, eaten with a knife and fork; while the American version is more casual, with the cheese left in toto – wedge or small round – on a cheese board with the appropriate cheese tools, sliced bread, crackers, olives, chutneys or other accompaniments, eaten buffet style.

Martha Stewart and other mavens of style recommend that the cheese course consist of three to five cheeses, ranging from the simple to the complex, from soft to firm. This is pretty solid advice when you’re first venturing into the world of fine cheeses.
For my money, the best cheese plates are balanced affairs, where no one cheese overwhelms the others. That’s why I generally shy away from recommending overly strong blues or flavored cheeses to be part of the mix.

On the other hand, I’ve put together some great cheese plates that just feature strong cheeses – it’s really up to your own palate and sense of style.

To start, pick a soft cheese, a medium textured cheese and a firm cheese. Think about intensity of flavors, textures, strengths, and colors. You might want to have all the cheeses come from the same country, or be from different milk sources, or be different colors – whatever, it’s up to you.

Some tips:

Cheese Plate Math. If you’re serving cheese as part of the dinner, allow 3/4 to 1 1/2 ounce of cheese per cheese per person. In other words, if you’re serving three cheeses, purchase 3-4 1/ 2 ounces of cheese per guest. If you’re serving cheese in the American fashion, you can scale back a bit, since there’s a lot more food coming, and you don’t want your guests to get full on cheese.
• If you’re pairing fresh fruit with the plate, allow about three to four slices of apple, pear or other fruit per person. Allow for an eighth to a quarter cup of nuts per person, and six to eight olives per person.
• Always serve your cheeses at room temperature.; take them out of the fridge at least one hour before serving them.

I’ve put together a few simple cheese plates, but feel free to experiment.

Classic
o Brie
o Chèvre (soft goat cheese)
o British Cheddar
o Blue Castello or another creamy blue
Spanish
o Nevat (goat brie)
o Garrotxa (firm goat)
o Mahon o Manchego
o Serve with Membrillo (quince paste) and Marcona almonds
West Coast Artisan
o Camellia, a goat brie from Sebastopol CA or Mt Tam, a triple crème from Point Reyes
o Humboldt Fog (a soft goat from Arcata CA)
o Bravo Sage Cheddar (Tulare CA) or Serena (Lindsey CA)
o Rogue River Blue (Oregon) washed in pear brandy, wrapped in grape leaves
French
o An ash-covered goat cheese like Valençay
o Morbier, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese
o Petit Agour, a sheep cheese from the Pyrenées
o St Agur, a mild creamy blue

• Visual
o Gaperon, a soft, dome-shaped cheese with garlic overtones
o Cahill’s Porter, a cheese mottled with Irish ale
o Vella Dry Jack, an extra aged cow’s milk cheese with a beautiful coating of cocoa powder and olive oil
o Valdéon, a Spanish blue, covered in Mulberry leaves

Posted by Farmstead :: 2:16 PM :: 0 comments