How to make the Ultimate Cheese Platter

I have an obsession with cheese, especially cheese made from 100% Canadian milk – it’s one of my favorite things to eat and I almost always have at least three kinds of cheese in the fridge. I find it adds that extra bit of oomph to everything. And while it’s a great in recipes and between two slices of bread, what makes my heart swoon, whenever I see one, is a fancy cheese platter. Fancy cheese platters mean that I can make cheese into a whole meal and in my books, nothing could be better.

Fancy cheese platters are easy to put together and are kind of sort of over the top impressive, at least to me. Here are some rules of thumb that I like to follow.

1. Don’t go to crazy with the amounts of cheese. Two or three types of cheese is what I’d say is good for a small plate, and up to five cheeses will do for a giant party platter. If you start offering up more than five, it gets a little confusing and your palate will be overwhelmed.

2. Texture is a big thing in the cheese world. Try to have one soft (think Brie, Camembert), one medium-hard (Swiss, Gouda), and one hard (Parmesan, Aged Cheddar). There are so many, many cheeses out there, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

3. Speaking of experimentation, I think it’s good to try new things – maybe go for a Blue Cheese? That being said, don’t feel pressured to have a crazy cheese board with cheese that you don’t actually want to eat. If you don’t like a certain kind of cheese, just say no. There are so many cheeses out there and no one’s going to judge your cheese choices. They’ll just be happy there’s cheese!

4. Speaking of happy cheese, cheese is happiest when it’s not straight from the fridge. Let it chill out for a while at room temperature so that you can taste more than, well, cold.

And with that, this is the little (ha!) platter I put together of some of my favorite Canadian cheeses. I’ve got triple cream brie, which is creamy, tender, and smooth. Burrata, which is a delicious hybrid of mozzarella and cream. Saint-Paulin, which is a creamy mild semi-soft cheese. Smoked gouda, which is hard, smoky, and buttery. The last cheese is the ever classic parmesan: hard, crumbly, and sharp.

I put them all on a marble board with a variety of crackers, toast, reduced balsamic, honey, roasted tomatoes, grapes, marcona almonds, and olives. Grab some friends, pour some wine and you’ve got good eats!

And, with that, I wanted to ask you guys, which one of these cheeses made from 100% Canadian milk (Triple Cream Brie, Burrata, Saint Paulin, Smoked gouda, or Parmesan) would you most like to see me feature in a recipe? Let me know in the comments!