King Island Dairy Recipes & Serving
Cheese is an extremely versatile food offering a myriad of ways in which to be enjoyed. It can be served on its own, matched with a glass of wine, presented on a cheese board or used in a favourite dish. Here you'll find tips for serving each cheese style, along with wine matches and recipes. If you're looking for a quick and simple solution, check out our short order suggestions.
General tips for a cheese board
- For the perfect cheese board offer three or four different styles of cheese. Alternatively, select one cheese and make it the focal point of the cheese board and serve it with several different accompaniments.
- Allow between 30g to 50g of cheese per person.
- If you wish to match wine with several cheeses, select just one style and serve a variety of cheese within this style to avoid major clashes.
- Always serve ripe cheese (ie. as close to its 'best before' date) so that it's at its optimum flavour.
- Allow cheese to come to room temperature which will help the flavours develop further.
- Use a separate knife for each cheese to avoid cross contamination.
- Keep the bread or biscuits simple as strong flavours will overwhelm the taste of the cheese.
General tips for matching wine with cheese
- Balance the flavour of the cheese with that of the wine. For example, the stronger and more mature the cheese, the richer and heavier the wine should be. The whiter and fresher the cheese, the crisper and fruiter the wine should be.
- Sweetness in wine counter balances the salt in cheese (which is why blue cheese partners well with dessert and fortified wines).
- Perfumed or floral reds can be too overpowering with cheese, as are heavy tannic wines which steal the nutty richness of the cheese.
- Generally speaking, if you had to select just one grape variety over any other to have with a cheese board, the best wine is a Pinot Noir or a crisp white.
- Experiment with cheese and wine matching to discover your own preferences.
