How do you cut the cheese for a wine and cheese party?
I have some fancy cheeses to serve; should I just chop it up or is there a particular way that looks fancy? And do I need to serve crackers or is that tacky?
Tagged with: cheeses • crackers
Filed under: All Things Wine
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eat more carrots.
At my grandmother’s christmas eve party, she had a cheese cutter. Its like a wooden board && u slide this lil handle that slices right through the cheese. && IF U CAN’T DO THAT U CAN JUST PUT THE CHEESE ON A PLATE WITH UR CRACKERS OR WHATEVER, AND HAVE CUTE LIL MINI KNIVES RIGHT NEXT 2 IT. WHEN WE DID THAT PEOPLE COULDN’T STOP EATING IT.
Don’t cut it! Make a cheese platter. Find the largest serving dish or cutting board or platter that you have - if there is room too spare, it looks even better. Put the cheeses on it whole and put out appropriate knives.
Stick a little fresh or dried fruit on there - grapes or cut fresh figs, or dried figs or cherries. If you can get to a cheese store or some fancy grocery store like Whole Foods, you could get some quince paste or fig cake (white truffle honey is awesome with cheese, but really, really expensive) to put out.
If the wine is just for enjoying (vs a "tasting") you can add some olives and/or cornichons. But they will mess with the taste of the wine.
Leave empty space - it looks cooler - and refill as needed.
Crackers are fine. Again, if this is really about wine get plain crackers (like Carr’s water crackers). Sliced french or italian bread is really good too. Great for cleansing the palette between wines.
And be aware - though people think the classic cheese and wine pairing is red wine, a lot of cheeses, particularly creamy ones, really go best with white wines. So it would be nice to serve both.
P.S. I feel like I’ve been set up for a cut the cheese joke ;D
Some cheeses are really best when you serve them whole and just let your guests cut pieces off themselves. If you have cheeses like cheddar, provolone or colby jack that you would like to slice, buy a crinkle knife and use it to make very simple slices. The thing about using a crinkle knife is that it gives it a nice appearance and you can’t tell if the pieces aren’t all identically perfect. I got mine for only a couple dollars and it’s really makes simple things like cheese look nice on a platter.
Crackers are always good with cheese. Crackers don’t cost much so have crackers and some good bread. A veggie platter is also nice to have for the cheese is rich and gives a nice balance to the snacks.
You can actually get the cheese blocks that have pre sliced slices. Cracker barrel i believe is the band that sells it and you dont have to worry about the cutting and making an uneven mess as i would always do. The slices are perfectly portioned and evenly sliced. You can pick these packages up at your grocery store. I would highly recommend this for your party
If you already have the cheese i would run out to your local kitchen supply store and where ever and buy a cheese slicer. They are so much more convient than the kitchen knife. If you cant run out to the store i would make sure you have a really sharp cheese knife and just slowly and carefully cut slices. or a regular sharp knife will also do. Dont worry everything will be just fine.