A good Christmas cheeseboard doesn't need ten cheeses. Three to five well-chosen ones, bought from a shop that lets you taste first, will go further and be eaten. Here's how much to buy, what to put together and how to keep it at its best until Boxing Day.
How much cheese per person?
| When you're serving it | Per person | For 8 people |
|---|---|---|
| After a big meal, such as Christmas dinner | 50 to 75g | 400 to 600g |
| As part of a buffet or drinks | 75 to 100g | 600 to 800g |
| As the main event, such as a cheese and wine evening | 100 to 150g | 800g to 1.2kg |
These are the rules of thumb most cheesemongers use. If you want leftovers for Boxing Day, add one larger piece of a hard cheese that keeps well, such as a mature Cheddar.
What to put on the board
Aim for contrast in texture, milk and strength. A simple five-cheese board might be:
- A hard cheese. A clothbound Cheddar, a Lancashire or an aged Gouda-style cheese. Easy to like and it keeps well.
- A soft cheese. A Brie-style or Camembert-style cheese, ideally ripe enough to be soft to the centre.
- A blue. Stilton is the Christmas classic. Ask your cheesemonger about smaller British blues too.
- A goat's or sheep's milk cheese. Fresh and lemony or firm and nutty. It gives the board a different flavour.
- Something unusual. A washed-rind cheese with a pungent smell or a local cheese you haven't tried before. This is where a cheesemonger's advice earns its keep.
For three cheeses keep the hard cheese, the soft cheese and the blue.
Why buy from a cheesemonger?
A cheesemonger will let you taste before you buy, cut exactly the amount you need and tell you which cheeses are at their best this week. Pre-packed cheese is often cut and wrapped well before it's sold. A specialist cuts to order from whole cheeses and many stock small British makers you won't find anywhere else.
Find one near you on our homepage or browse by region, such as Yorkshire, London or Scotland.
When to order
- Early December: order hampers and anything being posted. Shops publish a last order date for Christmas delivery and popular cheeses sell out before it.
- Mid-December: many shops take pre-orders for collection. Ordering ahead means you skip the queue in the last few days before Christmas.
- Collect as close to Christmas as you can. Soft cheeses keep ripening and are best eaten within a few days of buying.
If you can't get to a shop, see cheese shops that deliver or cheese hampers and gifts.
Keeping cheese at its best
- Wrap it in wax paper or cheese paper, not cling film, which makes cheese sweat. Most cheesemongers wrap it properly for you. Keep the paper.
- Store it in the salad drawer of the fridge, where it's cool but not too cold. Keep blue cheese wrapped separately.
- Take it out about an hour before serving. Cold cheese tastes of very little.
- Hard cheeses keep for a few weeks once cut. Soft cheeses are best within a few days to a week.
Serving tips
- Arrange the cheeses from mildest to strongest so people know where to start.
- Give the blue its own knife.
- Cut wedges so each piece has some rind and some of the centre.
- Keep the extras simple: plain crackers or oatcakes, sliced apple or pear, a chutney and a few grapes or dates.
Cheese and pregnancy
Some soft and blue cheeses aren't recommended during pregnancy. The NHS guide to foods to avoid in pregnancy lists which ones. A cheesemonger can tell you which cheeses on your board are made with pasteurised milk.