Autumn is here in all her glory. It's a time to slow down, gather loved ones together and indulge in some seasonal feasting with a beautiful selection of artisan cheese.
There is nothing better than coming home after a brisk autumnal walk, lighting a fire and diving into a stunning cheese board packed full of flavours of the season.
This Autumn we are encouraging you to get creative with your cheeseboard game and lay out a spectacular board that tastes as good as it looks!
A Guide to Creating an Autumnal Cheese Board
Choosing your Cheese
Deciding which cheeses to include in your seasonal board is probably the biggest challenge. A general rule would suggest you include something soft, something blue, something hard and something tangy, however it's your board, so we say anything goes!
We've chosen a few of our favourite Autumnal Cheeses that are perfect for feasting at this time of year.
We recommend allowing around 100 grams (3-5 ounces) of cheese per person, however, this can vary depending on the course. Get creative when presenting your cheese, portioning round cheeses into wedges and slicing wedges into smaller pieces cut nose to tail.
An incredible raw milk cheese. A rich, intense raw milk cheese with a smooth, creamy texture. Similar to a hard mountain cheese crossed with a clothbound cheddar. The rich, savoury and brothy flavour of Lincolnshire Poacher pairs well with fruity chutneys and pickles.
This is the only traditional milk Brie-de-Meaux style cheese produced in the UK. In fact, even the French would be jealous, as this cheese is one of only a handful of its type in the world to be made by the farmer on the farm and can genuinely be called a true farmhouse Brie. Boasting a silky texture and a golden curd, with long-lasting complex flavours of farmyard, morels and warm earth.
This incredible Double Gloucester is a traditional, full fat, hard cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk. The orange hue of this cheese is perfect for Autumnal cheeseboards and it is utterly delicious to boot! Appleby's Double Gloucester has a smooth and buttery texture with a rich and nutty yet delicate flavour.
Cropwell Bishop Creamery, Blue Stilton
Rich, creamy and resplendent cheese with a vibrant blue. The classic stilton should never be far away from any cheese board and this traditional, hand-ladled Blue Stilton is the perfect fit for an autumnal feast.
Choosing your Cheese Accompaniments
Once you have selected your cheese its time to choose the ingredients on the board that will make them sing. We have curated a selection of stunning cheese accompaniments that are sure to enhance your cheese feast.
Chutneys & Marmalades
You cannot beat a sticky chutney piled on top of a fabulous cheese. Look for sweet or tangy flavours that enhance rather than detract from your stunning artisan cheeses.
Deep, dark and richly spiced with cloves, ginger, allspice and molassed sugar. Perfectly paired with cold meat and a good wedge of hard cheese like farmhouse cheddar.
This delicious Pumpkin & Hogweed Curry Chutney combines sweetness and spiciness, making it an ideal accompaniment for cheeses. The wild Hogweed seeds add a unique flavour to this deliciously spiced chutney.
A warming blend of English Bramley apples spiced with fenugreek, cumin and chilli. Delicious with charcuterie and a good wedge of Farmhouse cheese.
Crackers & Bread
It is important to have something to dip, stack or slather on your cheeseboard. When it comes to your base layer, choose biscuits and bread that subtly enhance your ingredients instead of overpowering them. We've chose three of our favourites here that all work well with hard and soft cheese.
Pink Peppercorn Sourdough Crispbread
Nutty and crunchy, these crispbreads are wonderful paired alongside a smorgasbord of cheese, chutneys and autumnal crudités. Peters Yard selects simple, natural ingredients for their delicious crackers including organic flour, oat grains, buckwheat, sunflower & poppy seeds as well as their their precious sourdough starter, which is allowed to ferment for 16 hours before each batch is made.
Dates & Hazelnut Toast for Cheese
Thin, light and crisp toast (baked twice like biscotti) and uniquely packed full of fruits, nuts and seeds. Gloriously crisp and sometimes chewy, this toast is the perfect balance between sweet and savoury as well as being the perfect accompaniment to any cheese board. These wonderful biscuits are so moreish! Perfectly paired with creamy cheeses such as Baron Bigod, Bix or Bath Soft cheese.
A beautifully handcrafted loaf. Full of delicious figs and pumpkin seeds. The dough, made using Shipton Mill's stone ground flour, is enriched with black treacle and a little rye sourdough. A brilliant loaf to have on the table, our fig bread is a great addition to a cheese board.
Charcuterie
When it comes to charcuterie we encourage you to seek out cured meat with provenance. If you are going to the trouble of choosing beautiful farmhouse cheeses, it is only right to select equal quality meat. Fattier charcuterie works well with cheeseboards, especially with a little drizzle of honey or a bite of a sweet fig alongside.
Somerset Charcuterie, Black Pepper & Garlic Salami
Whole black Telicherry peppercorns and freshly crushed garlic compliment the natural flavour of the Somerset-reared pork in this delicious salami.
In creating this wonderful saucisson, careful maturation, combined with natural mould floral has led to a decidedly moreish saucisson with peppery notes. The subtle, rich flavour is well balanced in the salty meat and creamy fats.
Fruits, Pickles, Nuts & Olives
Adding an array of beautiful fresh fruit, nuts and pickles will set off your cheese board perfectly.
For nuts, think tasty things that epitomise the season; walnuts, hazelnuts, even candied nuts and pumpkin seeds will all pair wonderfully with autumnal cheese.
For fruit, blackberries and figs add sweetness that works brilliantly with blue and soft cheeses. For hard cheese think apricots, apples and pears.
Pickles and cheese go hand in had from cornichons, onions, to pickled walnuts and pears, adding a little sharpness to your cheese board will help cleanse the your palate and cut through rich buttery cheese.
