Cheese 101

Lesson One: Calculate. Plan for 100 grams of cheese per person, and three to five varieties of cheese. So if you’re having 10 people to dinner, five cheeses at 200 g each should be plenty.

Lesson Two: Diversify. “When it comes to cheese platters, I see a lot of people come in with absolutely no idea what to do,” says Christie Silversides at the Leslieville Cheese Market in Toronto. “They don’t diversify the cheese selection, and that’s where they go wrong.” Choose one hard cheese, one soft, one semi-soft, one blue, and one made from goat or sheep’s milk. If you want to double up on one kind or another, suit yourself, the point here is not to go with five kinds of havarti.

Lesson Three: Spend. Like wine, not only does cheese vary in flavour and appearance, it also tends to improve in accordance with how much money you’re willing to shell out for it. There are, of course, plenty of reasonably priced cheeses that are top notch, and plenty of expensive cheeses that aren’t worth your palate. The bottom line: you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for good cheese, but it won’t be cheap, either.

Lesson Four: Taste. Talk to your local cheesemonger. Ask for recommendations. Try some cheeses and decide what you like. It’s really that simple.

Lesson Five: Garnish. Don’t treat garnish like a last minute guest who’s crashing your cheese party—choose your platter accoutrements diligently. Those fruits aren’t there for aesthetics, they should compliment the cheese. Try tart apples with aged gouda, or a dish of honey with gorgonzola. Walnuts, pecans, and toasted almonds also go well and look nice on the plate.