French Cheese: How to Serve the Perfect Plate
Follow These Tips for Selecting and Serving French Cheeses
Mar 22, 2009
Let the tips below guide you in putting together your perfect cheese plate. Dig in!
What cheeses should I buy?
This is the million dollar question. France alone produces over three hundred varieties, so the choice is indeed staggering.
- When buying cheese, rather than going to the supermarket, try to go to a reputable cheese shop where you'll be able to sample different varieties and get some expert advice on choosing cheeses for your plate.
- Avoid pre-wrapped portions; their quality is often wanting. Choose instead pieces that have been freshly cut from larger wheels, then wrapped in waxed paper.
- Try not to let your gourmandise dictate your purchase; buy just what you need, and store whatever goes uneaten in waxed paper in a cool, dry cupboard.
- Decide on the number of cheeses you want to serve. There's no need to go overboard; three varieties is great, five is a little more decadent; any more is overkill.
- Make sure your choices offer a spectrum of light, soft and fruity varieties on one end, hard and robust in the middle, and strong blue cheeses at the other end. A French cheese plate containing five varieties could include, for example, a mild, light goat's milk Bûchette de Banon from Provence, a soft, creamy Coulommier from the Brie family, a robust ewe's milk Tourmalet from the Pyrénées region, a dense mountain Beaufort from Savoie, and a tangy Bleu d'Auvergne from the hilly central region of France. Soft and mild at one end, strong and acidic at the other; it's all there.
How do I serve the cheese?
- Choose a plate or platter large enough to ensure that the cheeses are not crowding each other. If you like, tuck a few pieces of pretty lettuce here and there, or do as the French and let the beauty of the cheeses stand by itself.
- Allow the cheese to come up to room temperature if they've been stored int he refrigerator.
- Don't bother slicing or cutting the cheese into cubes before serving; let your guests have the satisfaction of feeling the knife cut through the varying textures on your platter.
- Make sure the knife you place on the platter is sharp and sturdy enough to cut through the hardest of cheeses. It's no fun struggling to cut yourself a hunk of Comté!
What bread do I serve with the cheese?
In France the cheese plate is served after the main course and before, or, in some cases, in lieu of the dessert. Because it's served as a course in the meal rather than alone, it's presentation is really quite simple. Some sliced baguette and perhaps a green salad with an oil and vinegar dressing is all that's needed. If it's replacing dessert, fruit, such as grapes, pear slices and figs, can accompany the cheese.
If, however, you're serving the cheese alone, you can be a little more creative.
- In addition to the traditional baguette, serve a variety of breads, such a rye, cracked whole wheat, multi-grain and nut, sliced into easy-to-handle pieces and spread out on a platter.
- The rule of thumb is, the more delicate the cheese, the whiter the bread should be. Keep that in mind and stick to simple white breads low in salt if you've chosen to serve more than one dainty cheese variety.
- Add some different crackers as well, to offer a textural layer to the mix.
- Fruit slices and nuts round things off nicely while adding a decorative touch to the plate.
What do I serve to drink with my cheese plate?
Red wine is the traditional choice, though there's no reason to follow this rule. Red is often advised when serving cheese at the end of a meal simply because it's difficult to come back to a softer white once your guests have been drinking a more full-bodied red throughout the main course. That said, there's no reason to eschew white when serving cheese, and you may even think about serving a good quality cider or local beer in place of wine. It mostly comes down to personal taste; cheese is an infinitely easy food to match with drinks, so it's hard to go wrong. Experiment with different combinations and let your taste be your guide. To make the choice easier, an easy rule-of-thumb to keep in mind is to serve a wine, cider, beer or eau-de-vie that comes from the same region as your cheese. If your platter includes cheese from different French regions, then count yourself lucky; you're spoiled for choice in the beverage department!
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