As the holiday season approaches, many people worry about what to serve or bring to the various parties and events that accompany the most wonderful time of the year.

One way to make the season exciting is to use cheese.

Whether you want to hold a cheese-tasting party or simply create a cheese plate to serve before a meal, cheese improves everything.

You can also use the season to experiment with new cheeses while revisiting old favourites. When organising your cheese-tasting or cheese plate, keep the following tips in mind:

Have a theme

Perhaps you wish to serve cow’s milk or cheeses produced in your state or region. Or you want to emphasise a specific cheese flavour, such as cheddar, but serve numerous variants.

If matching is your thing, you could select a few cheeses and serve them with little tasters of wine or beer.

There is no right or wrong theme to go with. It all depends on you and your preferences.

Be cautious when choosing your cheese

Depending on your theme, you should carefully select a selection of cheeses with varied flavours (mild to strong), colour colours, and textures (smooth to crumbly), bearing in mind your party guests.

A great way to go about it is to choose a couple of “safe bet” cheeses with moderate flavours and one “daring” cheese with bold new flavours that your visitors are unlikely to have experienced before.

For example, you can have Martano cheese. This is a high-grade goat cheese, often called the little black dress of cheese. You may dress it up with jams, honey, fresh herbs, or dried fruits, which goes well with a rustic baguette.

Select cheeses with a wide range of flavours, textures, ages, and colours to create versatility.

The combinations are endless, ranging from mild to sharp, soft to hard, fresh to old. You can serve a variety of cow, goat, and sheep milk cheeses to your guests.

Choose rustic bread, crackers that won’t overpower the cheese, and fresh fruits like pears, apples, figs, grapes, dried apricots, cranberries, and cherries.

Berries are best served in compotes, jams, and chutneys if you want to incorporate them. Pickled vegetables, almonds, and charcuterie are other excellent complements to go with.

You can choose and combine your cheeses, but if you are unsure how to proceed, you can order an already-prepared cheeseboard. As a rule of thumb, ensure that a master chef, such as the one at Dutch Masterpiece, prepares the board you get.

A Dutch Masterpiece provides an amazing cheeseboard experience that is both traditional and unique.

Each of the collection’s four premium mature cheeses—Vincent, Frans Hals, Vermeer, and Rembrandt—has received global acclaim for its distinctive formulas and rigorous dedication to the age-old technique of traditional Dutch cheese making.

The taste of Vincent’s delicate yet profound richness, Frans Hals’ strong essence, Vermeer’s gentle fruity tones, or Rembrandt’s bold, biting zest combined with delicious texture will take your festive season to the next level.

A Dutch Masterpiece’s packaging is as unusual as the cheese, featuring great Dutch painters and their celebrated masterpieces.

The packaging also serves an educational purpose by providing thorough tasting notes to help you grasp the unique flavours and textures of the cheeses.

A Dutch masterpiece elevates cheese from entertainment to an art form, guaranteeing your at-home celebration is both memorable and delightful.

This cheese is ideal for any holiday occasion or special gathering.

To make your holidays memorable, a Dutch Masterpiece recently collaborated with Celebrity Chef George Duran to create mind-blowing cheeses which include Pear, Honey, and Goat Cheese Crostini, Sausage, Pear, and Goat Cheese Flatbread Pizza, Prosciutto, Aged Gouda, and Grilled Pear Tartine, and Skewered Antipasto Bites.

You only need to choose the one you like.

Photo, krakenimages.

Choose your wine pairings carefully

There are plenty of wine options you can go for. A classic partner is a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, such as Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume. Look for crisp white wines with minerality, citrus, and grassy flavours.

Cabernet Franc is an excellent choice for a red wine. The good thing with it is that it has good acidity and delicate herbal flavours that won’t overpower the cheese.

Display like a pro

You should use wood cutting boards, marble or granite slabs or tiles, serving trays, or small mirrors to display your cheeses.

Serve the cheese with appropriate equipment, such as toothpicks, tongs, cheese knives, butter knives (for spreadable cheeses), etc.

You should consider purchasing larger slabs of cheese for guests to cut from and chopping some of the cheeses into bite-sized pieces of varied shapes – the contrast makes for an appealing display.

Also, consider serving your cheeses with fresh fruits (grapes, apples, and pears go well with them), dried fruits (try dried apricots or cherries), almonds, crackers, sliced meats, olives, pickles, fresh fruit preserves, and French baguette slices.

Cheese is best served at room temperature; depending on the size and texture of your cheeses, set them out for 20 minutes to an hour before visitors arrive.

Think about leftover cheese

Remember that cheese needs to breathe. One way to store the leftover cheese is by wrapping hard cheese in parchment paper and storing it in a plastic bag.

You can also use reusable cheese storage bags since they help to keep humidity, preventing the cheese from drying up.

Some producers store soft-ripened cheeses in a sturdy container that allows the cheese to breathe while safeguarding the delicate skin.

If you have ordered your cheese, keep it in its original packaging. For example, you should store fresh goat cheese in an airtight container.

Parting shot

These are some tips you should consider when preparing your cheese platter during the festive season. To make it enjoyable, don’t be scared about experimenting.

You can pair a Mild Cheddar with a Sauvignon Blanc, Pilsner, or Wheat Beer to complement the cheese’s rich, smooth, and nutty flavour.

If you go with a buttery Gouda, pair it with a Syrah/Shiraz, Pale Lager, or Nut Brown Ale. Try a Riesling, hard cider, or Porter to bring out the taste of Gorgonzola cheese.