5 Great Seasonal Accompaniments for Your Holiday Cheese Plates
As this is a cheese-dedicated site, it goes without saying that we think all days are good days for cheese plates. Holidays, however, and their attendant festivities, do certainly provide extra incentive for creating cheese plate masterpieces, perfect for gathering your friends and family around for a celebratory graze.
If you’re short on time, there’s no shortage of options for pre-selected cheese plate kits with holiday flair: Curdbox, Boards and Co., and iGourmet, among others, all curate packages whose cheese accompaniments change with the seasons: spiced nuts, wintery marmalades, and cranberry-studded crackers featuring among them in December.
Should you be the kind of host or hostess with the most (or the mostess) who’s more than inclined to assemble your own holiday cheese plate, you can do better than simply arranging some rosemary sprigs and sugared cranberries around the plate for decoration. (Although I must admit this is a perfectly attractive place to start.) For holiday cheese plates with super seasonal flair, here are the accompaniments especially suited to decking the Challerhocker, Harbison, or Havarti this year.
Silver Spring Cranberry Horseradish
Horseradish itself may seem aggressive as a standalone accompaniment on a cheese plate, despite the incredible harmony it creates with sharp, crumbly cheddars. Cranberry horseradish, on the other hand, can doubtlessly make the cheese plate season bright, with its friendlier tart notes and ruby color. You’ll want to arrange some in a crock with a hunk of Bleu Mont Dairy Bandaged Cheddar nearby, and then you’ll also want to pull it out for every sandwich you make from holiday roast leftovers.
Marina’s Pear Ginger Chutney
Marina’s Kitchen simply creates some of the best fresh fruit chutneys available, so much so that even the most ambitious holiday host would consider foregoing homemade. Marina’s Pear Ginger Chutney especially hits the precise balance of naughty and nice...I mean, sugar and spice, ideal for partnering with one of the other darlings of the holiday season: Rogue River Blue. (Full disclosure: I ate this very pairing in the middle of writing this roundup and I am willing to go on record and say it’s my favorite of all time. Are you listening, Santa? I met all my deadlines this year!) If the Rogue Creamery award-winner is hard to come by in your area, another sweet and fudgy blue such as St. Agur or Gorgonzola Dolce will also bring joy to your world alongside this warm and fruity chutney.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are one of just a few fruits that hit their stride during the holidays, becoming widely available just as seasonal celebrations start to amp up in late November. What’s more, like cranberries, they also most excellently resemble holly and other low-hanging berries such as mistletoe that inspire a little holiday affection. You can easily roll a log of fresh chèvre in pomegranate seeds, pat yourself on the back for being a supreme holiday host, and call it a day. But pomegranates are more than just a cute look: with their citrusy bite and delicate crunch, they play especially nicely against rich cheeses with herbal flavors, as a Grand Ost Havarti with Dill or Pesto Gouda. And then, you know, the whole red and green thing continues to be on-brand.
If the chestnuts are indeed roasting on an open fire in your home, there’s certainly a place for them out of the flames and onto the cheese plate. Chestnuts have a subtle flavor: slightly sweet, nutty, and a little earthy, with a pasty texture that is akin to a legume. Pair them, then, with cheeses whose textures are creamy and whose flavors are less-than-subtle: Mitica’s smokey-spicy goat cheese Leonora a Fuego, or a fellow winter treat also worth singing about, Vacherin Mont d’Or.
Panettone
If you’ve had a packaged panettone sitting on your counter until Valentine’s Day because you were unsure what to do with it at Christmas, now you can be sure: toast it, and add it lovingly to your cheese plate. This Italian cross between bread and cake is similar to brioche, with a light yeasty taste and sweetness from raisins. If you consider yourself on the good list, panettone from Milan’s Bindi Desserts is available commercially for the first time this year, and sure beats the stuff you’d get at the department store. Serving suggestions for panettone often include a smear of mascarpone, so tease out that same idea with other sweet and creamy selections: Délice de Bourgogne, Jasper Hill Harbison, or Saint Angel Triple Crème, a Christmas-appropriate cheese if ever there was one.
For additional holiday cheese pairing inspiration, see Pairing Christmas Candy with Cheese.