How to build a cheese board
Three cheeses are enough: one fresh or bloomy, one firm, and one strong.
Pick three roles
A board needs contrast, not a pile of similar wheels. Use one mild soft cheese, one firm pressed cheese, and one cheese with a strong rind or blue veins. Three cheeses serve a small table. Add more only when the group is large.
Take them out of the cold
Cold mutes flavor. Set the cheeses out before you eat them. A soft cheese needs less time than a hard wheel. Leave them wrapped until the board is ready, so the cut faces do not dry.
Keep the strong cheese apart
A washed rind or a ripe blue will scent the mild cheeses if they share a closed box. Give the strong cheese its own knife. Bread, nuts, and something sharp, such as pickled onion or a firm apple, are enough beside the cheese.