Slicing Cheese for Your Holiday Cheese Board

From rounds to wedges and blocks, different types of cheese come in different shapes and sizes and can be cut using a variety of cheese tools. To make it easy, we’ve put together a simple guide with tips and tricks for cutting cheese like a pro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
1. Pick Your Tool
The texture of the cheeses you’ve chosen will help determine the type of tool required for slicing. We recommend having the following tools on hand to fit a variety of styles of cheese:

Chef’s Knife – A strong sturdy blade is ideal for cutting through hard cheeses like Roth® Grand Cru®.

Serrated Knife – A serrated knife makes it easy to slice semi-soft cheeses like Roth® Havarti.

Wire Cutter – Soft and crumbly cheeses like Roth® Buttermilk Blue® stick to a knife so a wire cutter is recommended to help make a clean cut.

2. Determine Your Shape
Varying shapes like tiles and triangles will create striking patterns when building a holiday cheese board. Let the natural shape of the cheese be your guide when determining the best shape to cut it into.

Semi-Soft Block – Roth® Havarti is one of many semi-soft cheeses made in blocks so it can easily be cut into tiles or cubes.

Hard Wedge – Hard wedge-shaped cheeses like Roth® Grand Cru® should be sliced into smaller wedges or triangles.

Soft – Soft cheeses like Roth® Buttermilk Blue® can either be sliced with a wire cutter or simply crumbled and placed on a cheese board in chunks.

3. Make The Cut
While cheeses can be cut well in advance of being served, different styles of cheeses are easier to cut at different temperatures.

Hard Cheeses – Hard cheeses are easier to slice at room temperature. Remove these cheeses from the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before slicing.

Soft and Semi-Soft Cheeses – Soft and semi-soft cheeses hold their shape better and are easier to slice when cold. Try putting softer cheeses in the freezer 5 to 10 minutes before getting started.

Click here for more tips and holiday cheese board inspiration!

Selecting Cheeses for Your Holiday Cheese Board

During the holiday season, cheese boards offer an eclectic assortment of flavorful items for guests to graze on as a snack or enjoy as an appetizer or dessert.

But with so many wonderful cheeses to choose from, how do you know where to start? Here are four steps to help make it easy to build a holiday cheese board of your own:

1. Be Selective
To start, limit your options to three to five different cheeses. Not only will this will give your guests a variety of cheeses to taste, but it also allows space on your board for plenty of accompaniments like nuts, preserves and crackers.

2. Choose Cheeses with Different Flavors
The best cheese boards feature a mix of sweet, spicy and mild flavor profiles. Alpine-style award-winners, like Roth® Grand Cru® or Roth® Private Reserve, are perfect cheeses to start with because they are rich and flavorful, while still being approachable. Next, add a spicy cheese like Roth® Sriracha Gouda or Jalapeño Havarti to give your board a touch of heat. Lastly, round out your offerings by adding a blue-veined cheese such as Buttermilk Blue

3. Feature Different Textures
When selecting cheeses, consider offering an assortment of hard and soft cheeses. A range of textures not only appeals to guests’ senses, but also provides variety for cutting and arranging the cheese which adds visual interest to your board

4. Embrace Color
The easiest way to make a statement is to add a pop of color. Catch the eye of your guests from across the room by making a bold statement with brightly colored cheeses such as the Roth® Prairie Sunset®.

Follow these simple tips when selecting cheeses and you’ll be on your way to creating a show-stopping, delicious cheese board.

Check out more cheese board inspiration!

How To Make a Halloween Cheeseboard


October is full of things we can’t resist, like pumpkin spice, Halloween candy, and October-inspired craft beer.  Now also on our list: cheese. Making a cheeseboard for Halloween parties, gatherings or dinner during your trick-or-treat duties is simple and fun. Just gather some cheeses, your favorite candy and try some new flavor pairings.

The Cheese
This cheeseboard features all of our favorite Halloween-inspired Roth cheeses, from Moody Blue to orange-hued Prairie Sunset, spicy Sriracha Gouda and Vintage Van Gogh Gouda with a dark rind.

The Candy
Whether you use mini candy bars, candy corn, or opt for fancier accompaniments, you really can’t go wrong pairing cheese and sweets. Here’s what we loved:

  • Caramel apples
  • Candy bars
  • Candy Corn
  • Dried Apricots
  • Caramel corn
  • Caramels
  • Pumpkin spice chocolate covered pretzels
  • Orange Marmelade

What would you put on a Halloween cheeseboard?

 

 

 

 

3 Chile Pepper Gouda + Mango

Looking for an appetizer that will leave your guests asking for more? Top slices of Roth 3 Chile Pepper Gouda with mango. Drizzle with honey for a hot/sweet kick that’s perfect for summer nights.

What you’ll need:
1 package (8 ounces) Roth 3 Chile Pepper Gouda Cheese
1-2 mangoes
honey, for drizzling

How to do it
1. Slice cheese into triangles
2. Cut mango into 1/2 inch pieces
3. Top cheese slices with mango pieces. Drizzle with honey.

Find more inspiration at rothcheese.com/ideas

IN THIS POST

Our New Favorite Pairing: Havarti + Radish

Looking for an easy appetizer or new twist on your plain ol’ cheeseboard? Top a radish slice with a square slice of Roth Havarti cheese, then sprinkle the top with coarse sea salt. Try many Havarti flavors like dill (pictured), jalapeno or original.

What you’ll need:
1 package (6 or 8 ounce) Roth Havarti cheese
1 bunch fresh radishes
coarse sea salt, for topping

How to do it
1. Slice radishes into disks
2. Slice havarti into strips, then cut into squares
3. Top radish slices with havarti slices and sprinkle with sea salt. Or, place havarti squares and radishes on a cheeseboard for quests to assemble their own pairings.

Find more inspiration at rothcheese.com/ideas

Summer Cheeseboard Tips

Summer is one of the best times of year to make a cheeseboard. Fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful, backyard barbeques are frequent and we need more things to pair with the extra wine consumed on our patios. When you want to put together a cheeseboard for guests, sometimes getting starting is the hardest part.

Start with choosing your cheeses. Limit your selection to no more than five, too many can get overwhelming. Start with mild soft cheeses and work your way to spicy or blue cheeses. Here, we used Roth Dill Havarti, Prairie Sunset, Vintage Van Gogh Gouda and 3 Chile Pepper Gouda.

Next, choose some fresh fruits and veggies with the cheeses you selected. For this board, we loved:

Dill Havarti: Fresh tomatoes, radishes
Prairie Sunset: Fresh strawberries
Vintage Van Gogh Gouda: Cherries
3 Chile Pepper Gouda: Peaches

To finish off your accompaniments, add nuts, jams and local meats like prosciutto and salami. Here, we even added some spicy honey mustard to top crackers with gouda and prosciutto. Be adventurous and creative with sweet, salty and spicy flavors, as well as a variety of different colors. You really can’t go wrong when you’re using such great products.

Here are a few more tips for the best cheeseboard:
1. Do not overcrowd the board, sometimes less can be more.
2. If serving the cheese as a hors d’oeuvre, plan on 1 to 2 ounces of each cheese per person.
3. Cheese is best served anywhere from 67 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so leave it out for about an hour before guests arrive.
4. Serve crusty bread or crackers on the side if you don’t have enough room on the board.
5. Don’t stress about having a fancy cheeseboard. Use cutting boards or even wax paper over a baking sheet (a great way to make a portable cheeseboard!).

 

Find more cheeseboard inspiration