The secret to an amazing dinner party or get-together can be summed up in three words: "meat and cheese." Seriously. You can decorate all you want. Create the perfect playlist and invite the most glittering guests. It's not until you put meat and cheese on the table that your shindig jumps from "OK" to "OMG!" A brilliant meat and cheese board kicks everything up three notches and cements your status as host supreme.
Here's an inside tip: if meat and cheese are the secret to a great party, Wisconsin Cheese is the secret to a great meat and cheese platter. When you set out chunks of Wisconsin gouda, parmesan, gorgonzola, or gruyère, you're giving your guests a taste of the highest-quality, most award-winning cheese on the planet. And that kind of star power is sure to send any soirée into overdrive.
Take a look through our website to meet Wisconsin's most famous residents – our 600+ varieties of cheese. Search our index for a great cheese fondue recipe or ideas for your next social bash. Or scroll down for our best tips on pairing meat and cheese on the charcuterie platter.
When building your meat and cheese board, start by selecting 4 to 6 cheeses that offer a nice balance of taste and texture. We like to add these cheeses to our cheese platter shopping list:
Next to your cheese, you'll want a spread of meats that include:
To round out your meat and cheese board, consider adding:
Also known as a charcuterie board, a meat and cheese platter is a spread of cheeses and cured meats that is usually also served with an assortment of nuts, fruits, vegetables, dips, and breads.
You can serve a spread of meat and cheese on any clean surface. Large wooden cutting boards work well, as do marble slabs and slate or chalkboards that allow you to label each ingredient.
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If there was a Meat and Cheese Hall of Fame, it's a safe bet the all-time great meat and cheese boards would be made with Wisconsin Cheese.
Wisconsin is one of those places that does one thing better than anyone else, anywhere: we make the best cheese in the world. With more than 5,500 trophies, our cheesemakers have won more awards than cheesemakers from any other state or country. We have the only master cheesemaker program in the world outside of the one in Switzerland, and we're the only state in the country that requires a license to make cheese – that's how seriously we take this stuff.
So, when you're building your next meat and cheese board, be sure it's Wisconsin Cheese you're slicing and cubing. That's when you know your meat and cheese platter is truly Hall-of-Fame material.
Craving award-winning aged cheddar, pining for parmesan, or searching for a new cheese to try? The world’s best cheese is just a click away! Explore our directory of Wisconsin cheesemakers and retailers who offer online cheese shopping and get cheese shipped right to your door. What are you waiting for?
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