Hello, it’s Natalie from Confetti Diaries and today I’m sharing with you ways to set up an herbs inspired cheese board for your next party.  I love cheese and herbs, but have never considered putting them together on a cheese board.  When I first started this post, I found that most cheese boards used herbs as a garnish to make the board look prettier.  Although I love a gorgeous cheese board, I wanted to explore creating a one where the herbs and cheese were eaten together to bring out the flavors of the cheese.

When correctly paired together, herbs can bring out the flavors of certain cheeses.  They make the cheeses taste more savory on the palette and can be new way to explore different tastes.  Here are some ideas for setting up your own herbs inspired cheese board for your next celebration.

Start with a selection of different kinds of cheeses.  The best cheeses to pair with herbs are brie (or a similar soft cheese), hard cheese (such as a Castellano or Parmagiano) and goat cheese.  Due to it’s strong taste, blue cheese does not match well with any herbs.

Certain herbs work better with different cheeses.  When setting up your cheese board, place herbs that match well with the cheese nearby to encourage tasters to try them together.  Here is a basic guide to consider when pairing your herbs and cheeses:

Hard Cheeses work well with thyme and sage.  It helps to balance the flavor.

Brie and other soft cheeses match well with sage, rosemary, dill and oregano.

Goat cheese combines with oregano and basil.

Add some meats.  Try an assortment of dried salami, prosciutto or pancetta to help differentiate flavors as guests try the cheeses.

Include a variety of crackers or slices of a baguette.  The cheese and herb pairings taste good without bread or crackers, but it’s nice to have a little extra crunch to balance the flavors.

Introduce your guests to the cheese and herbs pairings.  Demonstrate how to combine the different cheese and herbs.  Encourage guests to explore the flavors on their own and try different combinations.

When enjoying my own herbs inspired cheese board, I found my two favorite pairings were Brie with sage and goat cheese with oregano.  Both herbs brought out a new side of these cheeses that I hadn’t previously experienced.  I can’t wait to introduce these flavor combinations to friends and family at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.

The post Setting Up an Herbs Inspired Cheese Board appeared first on The Flair Exchange®.