Don’t Make This Mistake When Building A Cheese Plate
It’s natural to want to prepare as much as possible ahead of party time so that you can enjoy the company of your guests as they arrive. However, cutting cheeses too far in advance can undermine the quality of the cheese plate you worked so hard to create.
Morgane Thomas of the now-closed French fromagerie L’Affineur’Affiné in Paris, which served as both a shop and a restaurant while it was open, offers practical reasons for resisting the urge to slice your cheese too early. We strongly recommend cutting cheeses last minute,” Thomas tells Food & Wine. “It’s particularly true for the creamy cheeses because if you cut them in advance, they will fix together again.”
As for hard cheeses, she advises against slicing those too soon, citing their tendency to dry out when exposed to the air for extended periods.
Cheese Grotto also recommends waiting to cut cheese until just before serving, highlighting the importance of leaving creamy cheese intact, explaining that breaking through the rind allows the oxidation process to begin. The longer the surface of the cheese is exposed to the air, the less moisture it will have, which necessarily alters the flavor.
Meanwhile, MasterClass offers a two-pronged approach suggesting slicing semi-hard and semi-soft cheeses while leaving soft cheeses such as brie and hard round cheeses whole. In this case, guests can cut them on their own using the appropriate cheese knives for each.
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