A Cheesemaker’s Top Ten Grazing Board Tips
‘Tis the season for entertaining and gathering. A joyful time to come together, to spend time with our friends and family. And every gathering is enhanced by good food. Especially when said food includes delicious cheese and charcuturie displayed in on an eye catching grazing board. The custom grazing boards we make at the Creamery are always very popular and during the busy times of year (Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day) and we often have to close our sign up lists several weeks ahead of the holidays. We hate to disappoint our customers so we thought we’d share our top tips to help you create a grazing board in your own home that will be sure to impress your guests and keep them well fed. Grazing boards, when well planned and thought out, are very enjoyable and surprisingly easy to create at home. And you are pretty much guaranteed that your guests will be asking you to make a grazing board for gatherings for years to come. you’ve been warned. ;)
Know your guest list. If at all possible, be aware of who you are feeding. Are there any allergies? Dietary preferences? if you have a guest with an allergy to nuts, for example, you'll want to leave those off your board so they can enjoy your creation along with your other guests. Also think about when you will be serving your board. before a large dinner? in the evening, with drinks? This will dictate how much you can expect each guest to eat, which leads us to…
Know your amounts. Generally speaking, at an appetizer style gathering, you can plan on 3 ounces (or 80-100g) of both cheese and meats for each guest. If you're serving your board as light dinner, increase that to 5 ounces (130-150g) per person. We typically serve 5-7 cheeses and 3-4 different meats on a board. When you prepare each cheese and charcuterie item for serving, plan on each guest helping themselves to 2-3 pieces of each cheese and 3 of each charcuterie item.
Make cheese the star of the show. This tip might sound a little obvious coming from a cheese maker, but I really believe that carefully choosing high quality cheeses in a variety of flavours and textures and then curating the rest of your board to complement those choices can take a board from 'okay to "WOW!" with just a bit of extra effort. I'll add a note at the end of this article with recommendations on which Creekside cheeses we like to use on our boards.
Be creative: use a variety of ingredients to intrigue your guests. Think beyond the usual meat, cheese, and crackers. Pickled vegetables, sweet condiments like honey and preserves poured into small bowls or ramekins, spicy jams, grainy mustards, dried figs and orange slices all add pops of colour and a variety of textures and flavours. Fresh fruits are a must. Grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate, kiwi, apple slices, figs, blackberries, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Consider adding dips or hummus to satisfy any vegetarian or vegan guests.
Pairings are key. What’s better than cheese? Cheese paired with ingredients that enhance or complement its flavour and texture. Generally speaking, soft mild cheeses pair well with spicy jams or preserves, while heartier, more pungent cheeses are enhanced by a bit of sweetness from honey, fresh or dried fruit, or even chocolate. Flavoured cheeses often shine on their own or topping a cracker or slice of crusty baguette. Hearty charcuterie items pair well with full flavoured cheeses as well as pickled vegetables.
Prepare your shopping list. Now that you have your cheese and charcuterie and pairing accompaniments thought out, it’s time to prepare your shopping list. I find that grazing boards are a wonderful way to give your guests a “taste of this place”. Local farm based shops or independent grocery stores are great places to find local foods to use on your board and you can share the bounty of your area with your friends and family, while supporting local farms and businesses. Specialty cheese shops are also a great place to shop. Staff members often have amazing pairing suggestions and you can purchase just as much cheese as you need for your board to limit any potential for wasted ingredients.
For our local readers, we would love for you to use some of our cheese pairing suggestions at the end of this article. If you are unable or too far away to shop at our farmstead cheese shop, you can order online or find many of our cheeses at retailers throughout British Columbia. We also have some wonderful local charcuterie options. Two favourites are Johnstons and Central Park Farms. Johnston’s uses local pork to make wonderful salami (the wine salami is spectacular) and we also enjoy their smoked pork tenderloin as well. Kendall at Central Park Farms provides chicken and pork charcuterie options as well - try her chicken chorizo and pork farmer’s sausage! Johnston’s products can be found in most local grocery stores and Central Park Farms will actually deliver to your home within the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley area.
Pick the perfect board. Here’s where you can get creative. While live edge, hand carved, or otherwise unique real wood boards are beautiful, you don’t particularly need one to create a show stopping grazing board. Serving trays or baking sheets covered with a sheet of parchment paper will do just fine. If you’re serving a large crowd, even your table or countertop covered with butcher paper will work really well. After all, it’s the food and the way you’re presenting it that is the star of the show.
Prepare your ingredients. Cut your cheese. Slice your charcuterie. Place your condiments in bowls or ramekins. Wash and dry your fruit. If you are making a table or countertop grazing spread and won’t be able to refrigerate your food once it is set out, leave the prepping and building steps until as close to your guests’ arrival as you can.
Some cheese cutting tips: use a variety of shapes. Triangles, cubes, thin rectangles. Leave the rind on some of the cheese for contrast. We usually slice or cube all of our cheese before placing on the board; it is easier for your guests to choose a few pieces to enjoy instead of first having to cut them from a larger piece. The exception to this would be crumbly bleu cheese. These are best left mostly intact with a few pieces crumbled beside to show your guests how to serve themselves.
Charcuterie prep tips: salamis and smoked meats should be sliced. Thin charcuterie slices can be arranged in roses. Pepperoni and cheese skewers are always popular (use a mild cheese like Gouda to complement the spice).
Composition. It’s time to build your board!
We typically start with cheese as it is the anchor to all of the other ingredients on the board. Long triangles interlocked form a striking zipper pattern. Shorter, squat triangles can be stood upright to form a kind of mountain range. Cubed cheese can be piled more haphazardly to provide visual interest. Place your cheeses in groups around the board. Try to keep each cheese separate from the others - separating like ingredients will keep your board more visually appealing.
Next, add your condiments: jams, preserves, honey, dips. Spread these out over the board as well. Keep pairings in mind as you arrange your condiments - for example: place your ramekin of honey beside your aged Gruyere.
Now, add your charcuterie. Sliced salamis and cured meats can be arranged in curved lines across the board. Salami roses look best individually or in a group of 3. Pile cheese and pepperoni skewers on the corner or edge of the board. Prosciutto looks beautiful arranged in ribbons.
If you are adding crackers or breads to your board, add them to the empty spaces now. If you are preparing your board several hours ahead of your gathering and the board will be covered and refrigerated until serving, don't add the crackers until serving or they will become soggy. Alternately, you can have a separate plate of crackers and bread to avoid this issue.
Fill in any larger spaces with fresh and dried fruit. Start with clusters of grapes and arrange berries and other fruits around these clusters.
Finishing touches. Here is the fun part; where it all comes together.
Fill the empty spaces with nuts, dried cranberries, small fruits, and fresh herbs (rosemary is a favourite). I love the look of a full, sumptuous board and try to cover all of the empty spaces with food. You'll be amazed at how this last step really gives your board a cohesive look. At this point I recommend taking a step back to make sure everything looks uniform and appealing. Add extra fruit for a pop of colour if any area of the board looks a little lackluster.
And you’re DONE! Cover and refrigerate your board until serving if you have prepared it ahead of time. Set out the board about 15 - 20 minutes ahead of serving time to allow the cheeses to warm slightly. Cheese tastes so much better closer to ambient temperature rather than at fridge temperature! And then… set your board before your guests, accept their admiration, and enjoy the rest of your gathering with good food and good company. Cheers!
Now I’m sure you’re curious which Creekside cheeses we use on our boards, and how we pair them to display them to their full advantage. These cheeses are all available in our farm store, in our online store, and at most of our retail partners.
Here’s our usual lineup:
La Belle Vallee: cut into rectangular logs, then cubed by hand piled haphazardly for a rustic look. Paired with honey and candied ginger.
Garlic Raclette: sliced into long interlocking triangles to form a zipper effect. Paired with smoked charcuterie.
Golden Meadow: sliced and paired with fresh basil and slivered dried dates
Mild Gouda: cubed and placed on skewers with pepperoni slices
Herbed Fromage Blanc: every board needs a spreadable cheese. Pair these with crackers or crusty baguette slices.
Alpine Ash: sliced and arranged to display the beautiful ash marbling. Paired with spicy jams (the cranberry pepper jelly from The BOG is perfect!)
Wild Herb Gouda or Jalapeno Raclette: flavoured cheeses are always popular. Both of these stand out on their own or served on a cracker. They slice well and can be cut into triangles or slices.
Petite Savoie: adds beautiful contrast to the harder cheeses. Soft, creamy, and the perfect pairing for spicy preserves.
And there you have it — all of our board building secrets. Now, if you build a board at home using some or all of these tips, tag us on social media! We’d love to see your creativity.
Cheers,
Julaine - farmer + cheesemaker + grazing board builder