Large or small, simple or extravagant, ideal for entertaining and casual snack dinners alike, cheese boards are always a good idea! Even better, these beautiful boards are easy to build from scratch with a few basic tips and tricks. Follow along and cheese your own adventure!

Cheese: To create a well-rounded cheese board, start with 3–5 of your favorites from our Specialty Cheese Department, with about 1–1½ ounces per cheese per person, served at room temperature. If you don’t know where to start, our Cheesemongers are more than happy to help with recommendations, or you can build a balanced board by selecting one from each of these flavor profiles:

• Young, mild cheeses like double or triple crème bries
• Soft or semi-firm cheeses like mild cow, aged goat or sheep’s milk cheeses
• Complex, strong, nutty flavors like washed rinds
• Assertive flavors like blue cheese

Charcuterie: To make your board more meat-heavy, drop by our Kitchen for a wide variety of authentic, high-quality cured meats sourced from the world over. Try to select a variety of tastes and textures, like these gourmet go-tos:

• Soppresatta, an Italian dry salume
• Mortadella, a smooth Italian sausage with cubes of pork fat
• Salami, cured sausage of fermented or air-dried meat
• Bresaola, an air-dried, cured and aged beef salume
• Prosciutto di Parma, naturally cured ham with robust flavor 

Accompaniments: The richness of cheese and charcuterie truly shine when paired with sweet, spicy, tangy and tart flavors plus bread or crackers on which to serve your fare. They're also a great way to add your own unique flair!

• Savory: Salty, spicy, tangy, rich—go big with briny, buttery olives, vinegary cornichons and other pickled produce, plus salty snacks like Marcona almonds, raw or toasted nuts and savory spreads like pâté.
• Sweet: Sugary, tart, bright and balancing—celebrate sweetness with fresh and dried produce, plus candied nuts for crunch, and quince paste and fig jam (or your favorite flavors) for something soft or spreadable.
• Baked: Whether simply delicious or a flavor-packed powerhouse, finish your board with crunchy carriers like artisanal crackers or crostini, or pick up a fresh baguette from our Bakery.

Extra Credit: While the food is the main feature, if you want to go the extra mile for fun and style, check out these pro tips for presentation.

• Arrange your board from things that take up the most space to those that take up the least.
• For visual interest, present cheeses in a variety of shapes (cubes, slices, wedges, chunks, wheels) depending on type. 
• Use a separate cheese knife for each cheese. 
• Garnish your board with fresh herbs for extra color and aroma.
• If your board is overflowing, build several smaller boards (as pictured) featuring different categories of foods.
• Or, for all the deliciousness and none of the work, order a Specialty Cheese Board online!

Have questions? We have answers! Drop by the Specialty Cheese Department at your local Nugget Market and talk to our friendly and passionate Cheesemongers to build your best cheese board yet!