I hope these tips will help you when you are planning for a party or setting up a cheese plate or cheese board. Always provide a separate cheese knife for each separate cheese.
1) Let your cheese come to room temperature before cutting it. The reason for this is that cheeses will soften as they warm up thus making them easier to cut.
2) Cut Brie, Camembert or Taleggio cheese in wedges like a pie and in sizes that will be easy to handle. When cutting off a piece from a pre-sliced wedge always cut in the direction of the wedge, do not cut off the tip or across the wedge. Do not scoop out the center of the cheese and leave the rind on the serving plate ! You can also serve a large piece and allow your guests to cut their own portions but this usually causes a bit of a mess and a small traffic jam at the table.
3) Cut hard and semi-hard cheeses into cubes if you are serving them as table snacks but for more formal settings, where the cheese is the focus, cut small wedges (about 2 oz) and place them on each guests plate. For cheese boards or cheese plates cut them into larger wedges so that your guests can cut their own portion sizes.
4) For fresh goat cheeses, place a moderate sized portion on the serving plate and provide a butter knife for spreading the cheese onto crackers or bread.
5) For round cylinder cheeses like Stilton or Cheshire, cut them so that you keep the round shape. In other words do not cut wedges , cut circles about 1/2 inch thick. In this way your guests will appear to be cutting a pie. This will add a distinctive eye appeal to your setting.
I have found that a good, sharp cheese knife with a 4 or 6 inch blade is indispensable when preparing cheese. A wire cheese slicer is also very good for slicing moderate sizes of cheese but they do not work very well with round cylinder cheeses. Cheese slicers can be found in most department stores but make sure you have a way of ordering more cheese wires as they break often. Also a sharp two handled cheese knife with a 10 or 12 inch blade will also come in handy for large or very hard pieces of cheese. This type of knife allows you to exert more downward pressure on the cheese and produces a more uniform or straight cut.
1) Let your cheese come to room temperature before cutting it. The reason for this is that cheeses will soften as they warm up thus making them easier to cut.
2) Cut Brie, Camembert or Taleggio cheese in wedges like a pie and in sizes that will be easy to handle. When cutting off a piece from a pre-sliced wedge always cut in the direction of the wedge, do not cut off the tip or across the wedge. Do not scoop out the center of the cheese and leave the rind on the serving plate ! You can also serve a large piece and allow your guests to cut their own portions but this usually causes a bit of a mess and a small traffic jam at the table.
3) Cut hard and semi-hard cheeses into cubes if you are serving them as table snacks but for more formal settings, where the cheese is the focus, cut small wedges (about 2 oz) and place them on each guests plate. For cheese boards or cheese plates cut them into larger wedges so that your guests can cut their own portion sizes.
4) For fresh goat cheeses, place a moderate sized portion on the serving plate and provide a butter knife for spreading the cheese onto crackers or bread.
5) For round cylinder cheeses like Stilton or Cheshire, cut them so that you keep the round shape. In other words do not cut wedges , cut circles about 1/2 inch thick. In this way your guests will appear to be cutting a pie. This will add a distinctive eye appeal to your setting.
6) For bloomy rind cheeses like Epoisses or Exploratur leave them in their containers and just split them open on the top. Provide a small spoon to allow your guests to scoop out the soft cheese and a small knife for spreading. It is advisable to keep these types of cheeses in their containers otherwise they will become very messy and unsightly when they ooze all over the place.
Cheese Knife Set at Amazon
Organic Bamboo Cheese Cutting Board at Amazon
I have found that a good, sharp cheese knife with a 4 or 6 inch blade is indispensable when preparing cheese. A wire cheese slicer is also very good for slicing moderate sizes of cheese but they do not work very well with round cylinder cheeses. Cheese slicers can be found in most department stores but make sure you have a way of ordering more cheese wires as they break often. Also a sharp two handled cheese knife with a 10 or 12 inch blade will also come in handy for large or very hard pieces of cheese. This type of knife allows you to exert more downward pressure on the cheese and produces a more uniform or straight cut.
