During the holiday season, you are bound to look for easy meal or snack ideas as well as foods you can serve if guests arrive unexpectedly. A cheese board is the perfect solution when you want to pop something on the table for your hungry family or peckish guests. Here are some tips.

How much cheese?

The main question that many people ask is just how many types of cheese they should include when assembling a cheese board. There are no rules set in stone. However, a good guideline is to add three to five different cheeses. You should choose one hard cheese, a softer cheese, perhaps cheese that can be spread as well as a strong-flavoured cheese such as blue cheese. If you include blue cheese, cheddar or gouda, Camembert and even spreading cheese, you will have all those bases covered.

How about some extras?

Once you have chosen your cheeses, it’s time to select the extras for your cheese board. Fruit and nuts are an excellent addition. You can include dried fruit such as cranberries as well as almonds, pistachios and fresh fruit like apples and grapes. Cured meats like salami and prosciutto will certainly go down well if you have them in your fridge.

Do I serve bread?

You can choose between bread and crackers depending on your preferences. Many people prefer crackers because they aren’t quite as ‘heavy’ as bread. They also allow you to enjoy the cheese rather than eating more bread than cheese. Set the crackers on either side of your cheese board so that your guests can access them easily.

How about beverages?

Now, don’t forget to serve the appropriate beverages! Different types of wine pair well with different types of cheese. Take note of the types of cheeses on your cheese board and select your wines accordingly. You can also serve non-alcoholic beverages such as apple juice, sparkling water and so on.

Remember to prepare more than one tray of each type of cheese so that you have back ups for quick refills. When one or more of the items on your cheese board run low, you can quickly top them up. You should refrigerate your cheese but, approximately 30 minutes before serving, you should allow the cheese to rest at room temperature.