You don’t need a ton of different cheeses, but have at least a 3-5 from the below categories.
Fresh
Fresh cheeses are simple and make amazing foils to other flavours. Fresh cow cheese like Mozzarella or burrata tends to be more approachable, with sweet, light and clean-tasting flavours, while cheeses made with goat or sheep’s milk have a wonderful salty intensity.
Try: Galbani Mozzarella or fresh goat’s milk cheese
Bloomy
From cold, flaky butter to whipped buttercream textures—there’s a lot of love about decadent, bloomy cheeses. The cheeses in this category all share an edible rind, which adds an extra dimension of flavour that will take your cheese board to new heights.
Try: Président Camembert or Brie
Semi-soft
Semi-soft cheeses are real crowd-pleasers because they’re incredibly versatile and act as the perfect middle-ground on your cheese board. They’re typically sold in blocks, are rindless, and reliably tasty, falling somewhere between sweet and milky to deliciously tangy in flavour.
Try: Le Petit St-Paulin or Havarti
Hard
These cheeses are firm, savoury, low in moisture content, and aged anywhere between two to 36 months. The ageing process determines the intensity of the flavour, meaning the longer a cheese is aged, the sharper and tangier it gets. Hard cheeses will add depth to your cheese board thanks to complex flavours like toasted hazelnuts, browned butter or bright acidity.
Try: Président Comté or Balderson Extra Old Cheddar
Blue
Blue cheese isn’t just one cheese. It’s an entire tribe of cheeses known for its pungent aroma, deep saltiness and signature blue veiny mold. But it’s also so much more than that. Blue cheese can be Brie-like in texture or have a natural, drier rind with a fudgy interior that crumbles beautifully. It can go from buttery with a bitter finish, to bacony or mellow salt with a spicy pop. Blue cheese is a great way to add excitement to your board and to invite people to discover something new.
Try: Société Roquefort or Gorgonzola
