How to cut cheese into thin slices. Cheese plate - assorted composition

If you have prepared only one type of cheese for the festive table, usually there are no questions about how to cut it and how to properly serve the cheese to the table. But if you decide to make a cheese plate, then you need to know certain, well-established rules for slicing cheese for centuries.

There are literally countless varieties of cheese. And for this dish, each of them is cut in its own way. Cheese is a very plastic product, each variety has its own texture and taste. And the approach to slicing for each type of cheese is different ..

Sandwich cheese like Dutch or Russian can be easily cut into bread with any kitchen knife.

However, professional chefs, as well as people who understand cheese varieties, understand that one knife is not enough. For different cheeses, there are special cheese knives adapted to the density and consistency of a particular type. There are knives for very soft cheeses (such as dor blue), for medium soft cheeses, for hard cheeses and a separate parmesan knife (for very hard cheeses).

Probably no other product has such a variety of knives. The peculiarity of the cheese is that its taste is not uniform throughout the thickness of the head and changes from the edge to the middle. Therefore, in a properly cut cheese, according to cheese fans, each piece should have a smooth transition of taste sensations. Most cheese knives have a handle above the blade line. This facilitates the cutting process and gives a more uniform force on the cutting edge.

The medium soft cheese knife is the most popular cheese knife. Its shape is not the most common: with holes in the blade, the tip is bent up and bifurcated at the end, and there are small teeth along the entire length of the cutting edge.

Why such excesses? The holes in the blade play the role of air pockets - so that the cheese does not stick to the plane of the blade and does not wrinkle. The upwardly curved tip is needed to facilitate cutting hard pieces. Bifurcation is used as a fork - serve sliced pieces. You can pay attention to this in the video on how to cut cheese. The serrated (serrated) edge makes it easier to cut soft cheese with a hard crust. You put the middle of the knife on the cheese, the curved tip on the cutting board - and the cheese is easily and gently cut into even pieces without sticking to the blade. If you are not a cheese gourmet, then this knife will be enough for you to cut most types of cheese. In addition, the serrated edge and fork at the end allow it to be used also as a tomato knife.

Knives for soft cheeses (cheese cutters) look something like this:

With a thin string, a cheese cutter (aka a string knife) will gently strip even the softest cheese into neat cubes. Such a cheese cutter is absolutely indispensable for blue mold cheeses, which an ordinary knife will simply turn into an indistinct crumble. By the way, not only soft. As you can see in the figure, the string copes well with harder varieties. Stands on which cheese is placed are wooden (including bamboo), stainless steel and even glass.

Manual version of the string knife:

A string knife, like a cheese cutter with a platform, allows you to cut the cheese of the desired thickness with a steel string. The thickness of the slices in this particular model can be adjusted using special screws, but this is rather an exception - usually the thickness is fixed and does not change.

The cheese planer is designed for harder cheese varieties. They can cut the cheese into the thinnest slices.

The principle of operation of a cheese planer is simple: you move it towards you (toward the handle) and it removes chips from a piece of cheese, giving out thin cheese leaves. If the slot in the cheese planer is adjustable, then you can get cheese layers of different thicknesses. By the way, good news for lovers of sweets: it is very convenient to make chocolate and coconut chips with a cheese plane. So this knife will be useful on the farm, even if you are not the biggest cheese lover.

Parmesan knife. Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese. It is very difficult to cut such cheeses, so they are usually chopped into pieces.

Parmesan is the most famous Italian hard cheese in the world. In Italy, some banks even issue loans secured by Parmesan cheese. The cheese got its name (Parmigiano Reggiano) from the names of two producing regions: Parma and Reggio nell Emilia. The word "parmesan" is the French version of the Italian name, and it has become widespread in the world. A parmesan knife is specially made in such a shape that it can chop hard cheese. It is also suitable for sweet hard foods - halva, sherbet, etc. Its shape is very convenient for opening oysters and shells, but true cheese connoisseurs do not approve of such blasphemy: if a cheese knife means it's for cheese.

There is another interesting device for making cheese chips, it is also called a girolle:

Girolle is a simple tool that will cut not only the famous Swiss cheese Tête de Moine, but also other hard cheeses: Edam, Petit Basque, smoked cheeses, and also create chocolate curls for home baking. The fat, when rotated, creates shavings that resemble thin rose lace, which are ideal for decorating dishes. This is a great gift for chefs, lovers of cheese and chocolate. For cutting large heads of cheese, ordinary knives are inconvenient to use.

If you have to deal with whole heads, then you will probably appreciate a two-handed cheese knife:

Finally, two words about sets of knives. This is a great gift for cheese lovers. Especially if it has an oak board. In some sets there are 2-3 knives, in some - 10-12. Often, manufacturers include an unnecessary knife or two for assortment that you will never use.

2. This knife is designed for cutting fresh cheese in the form of a head, a bar or a circle. The handle, located above the butt, and the peculiar shape of the blade itself allow you to cut the cheese as accurately and evenly as possible.

3. Knife for mature hard cheeses, allowing you to cut them without much physical effort. An original constructive solution is a drawer for storing knives built into an oak board with a marble work surface. This board, thanks to its stylish design, is perfect for serving a cheese plate. Therefore, you need to think in advance for which cheeses (hard, soft, medium) you are going to use this set and see if there are exactly such knives in a particular set.

Bon appetit!

It is quite rare to observe the phenomenon when there is no plate with cheese and sausage cuts on the festive table. This is not surprising, because it is these products that make an excellent snack, which usually warms up the appetite of guests before serving the main courses.

Therefore, do not neglect cutting sausage and cheese, it is better to learn how to lay out products so that they resemble a dish from the most expensive restaurant, and then all guests will remember your feast for a long time.

If there are several types of sausages or meat products of different shades, they can simply be laid out in an original assortment.

Thin slices can be laid out in a spiral or in a circle, alternating dark and light shades, a rainbow layout will also look good, while the pieces are laid out in rows from light to darkest or vice versa.

Since the sausage is more malleable than, for example, meat, it can be laid out in the shape of a flower. It is not difficult to do this, one piece is twisted into a tube, after which it must be wrapped with other thin slices.

It is easier to roll a rose from cut slices, securing it with a toothpick.

Another type of original cut can be made using conventional dough molds, preferably metal. Thinly sliced sausage slices need to be shaped to your liking, and then carefully laid out in rows or collected in a canapé.

Sausage of a rather large diameter can be thinly sliced and folded in half, then next to spread out all the other slices in one direction. In the pockets that have formed, you can put additional products, for example, a tomato or a cucumber.

Also, slices can be twisted in the form of a cone resembling a calla flower or twisted into tubes.

To arrange sausage cuts in the form of a large flower, lay lettuce leaves on a plate, and then thin slices that will resemble petals; with this layout, it is advisable to lay out the middle with dark products, for example, olives. You can also place a saucer with sauce in the center of the cut.

Here are examples of beautiful sausage layouts:

Decorating a cheese plate

Unlike sausage, cheese does not have to be cut into thin slices, although if the cheeses are of different shades or with additional additives, then laying in a spiral with transitional colors will look spectacular, the main thing is to stack them alternately from neutral to savory.

Also, this product can be rolled into tubes and cones, if it is soft and does not break and crumble, you can add an olive, olive or even a slice of tomato or bell pepper to the middle of each piece. This design will resemble a plate with blooming calla flowers.

You can also make roses from this cheese. Their composition is the same as in the case of sausage.

Soft and semi-soft types of cheese can be cut into large identical squares or triangles and then put out of them any shape you like, alternating varieties with fruits, berries, nuts.

You can also create an original canape with cheese cubes. To do this, you need to string a piece of cheese on skewers and add a suitable product to it (olives, walnuts, strawberries, and so on).

Canape-sandwiches with the addition of bread, pickled vegetables, herbs, pickles and so on are also original.

In addition to skewers, you can use glass containers and multi-level trays for decoration.

Also, all kinds of figures will look beautiful from pieces cut into small cubes.

Suitable for decorating plates and all kinds of cookie cutters.

Here are examples of cheese plate layouts:

Combined cheese and meat platter

According to the rule for serving dishes, the cheese and meat platter should be stacked so that the meat products occupy ⅔ of the plate, and only ⅓ of the part is given to the cheese.

Given this rule, in the design of the layout, you can apply all the above techniques regarding cheese and meat products.

Here are examples of cheese and meat plates:

Tools

There are many different tools with which you can create an original cut of sausage and cheese. To cut very thin slices, a special device called a slicer is used. Housewives also use slicers with different nozzles.

For cutting “blue cheeses”, a special knife is usually used; instead of a blade, it has a strong fishing line. For particularly soft varieties, a serrated knife is better, and for hard varieties, a special spatula is used.

For the original cutting and sausage and cheese, the housewives use curly knives. Particularly inventive use metal baking dishes to give the slices an interesting shape.

The main rule for successful cutting is a well-sharpened knife or any other device.

Products for cutting

For a variety of cold cuts, you can take any meat products (balyk, brisket, boiled pork, and so on), the only remark is that the products are not too fatty, that is, it is better not to use lard-containing species in such a dish.

For the cheese composition, you can use any kind of product from blue cheeses to regular processed cheese.

To make the sausage and cheese slices look bright and beautiful, it is recommended to use other additional products in the form of decorations. For example the following:

greenery;
olives and olives;
grape;
tomato;
cucumber;
pomegranate seeds;
nuts;
bell pepper;
figs;
boiled eggs;
various sauces;
berry jams;
boiled and raw vegetables;
pickled vegetables;

2017-01-21

Sandwich cheese like Dutch or Russian can be easily cut into bread with any kitchen knife.

Knives for soft cheeses (cheese cutters) look something like this:

Manual version of the string knife:

The cheese planer is designed for harder cheese varieties. They can cut the cheese into the thinnest slices.

Parmesan knife. Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese. It is very difficult to cut such cheeses, so they are usually chopped into pieces.

There is another interesting device for making cheese chips, it is also called a girolle:

If you have to deal with whole heads, then you will probably appreciate a two-handed cheese knife:

1. Knife for soft, especially difficult to cut, cheese varieties. Holes in the blade prevent cheese from sticking and make it easier to cut, and a sharp fork at the end is designed for prying and shifting an already cut slice. 2. This knife is designed for cutting fresh cheese in the form of a head, a bar or a circle. The handle, located above the butt, and the peculiar shape of the blade itself allow you to cut the cheese as accurately and evenly as possible. 3. Knife for mature hard cheeses, allowing you to cut them without much physical effort. An original constructive solution is a drawer for storing knives built into an oak board with a marble work surface. This board, thanks to its stylish design, is perfect for serving a cheese plate. Therefore, you need to think in advance for which cheeses (hard, soft, medium) you are going to use this set and see if there are exactly such knives in a particular set.

Sliced cheese is a universal appetizer for all occasions, which will decorate any festive table and complement a modest meeting with friends over a glass of wine. Find out what types of cheese can be combined, how to cut it correctly and what to serve with, what fruits and sauces should be added.

The composition of the cheese plate

First you need to think over the main menu, because the composition of the cheese plate depends on the main dishes (meat, chicken or fish), types of alcohol, national cuisine. If light European snacks, dry wines, champagne predominate, then cheese platter 1 is suitable. Number 2 - goes well with Slavic or Russian cuisine and strong alcoholic drinks: vodka, cognac and fortified wines. The third option is universal, but gourmets recommend serving it with fish dishes, lean meats, vegetable salads, semi-sweet wines and stronger drinks.

Assorted 1:

expensive cheese with noble blue mold: roquefort, dorblu, gorgonzola, danablu;
soft cow cheeses with a moldy crust: brie, camembert;
hard cheeses: parmesan, pecorino, gruyère or emmental;
additions: figs, pears, apples, grapes, plums, strawberries, dates, spinach, honey, berry jam, onion marmalade, almonds, walnuts.

Assorted 2:

hard or semi-hard cheese: Russian, Dutch, gouda, edam;
pickled cheeses: brynza, Adyghe, suluguni, chechil;
smoked: suluguni or processed sausage cheese;
additives: cilantro, dill, parsley, green onions, thin pita chips, walnuts, nut sauce, crackers.

Assorted 3:

pickled cheese: feta, mozzarella;
hard, semi-hard varieties: maasdam, emmental, gruyère, cheddar, conte;
spicy French cheeses made from goat's and sheep's milk: chevre, shabishu, brunost;
additives: cherry tomatoes, peppers, peaches, grapes, figs, dried apricots, raisins, olives, walnuts, cashews, rosemary, arugula, olive oil, honey.

Decorating a cheese plate

According to the accepted rules for the design of a cheese plate, it must contain at least three types of cheese. They are recommended to lay out according to the degree of spice and hardness, do not put too fragrant varieties next to them and intersperse with fruits, vegetables, herbs. Small bowls with honey and jams are placed in the center of the plate. A few tips for making your cheese board perfect:

Cheese should be arranged clockwise from the freshest or softest to the most spicy or hard. You can use another principle: from the center of the plate to the edges.
You do not need to cut the whole piece of cheese, but put only a few slices. Serve with a special knife and the remaining large piece.
Do not put bread on a plate with cheeses. In Italy, France, and other European countries, they never serve cheese with bread - only fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
Remove the prepared plate of cheeses from the refrigerator (half an hour before serving) so that the products reach room temperature.
Serve slices of cheese, cut so that 3 components are visible: crust, edge, middle.
Prepare the right amount of cheese. You can calculate it like this: 100-150 grams of the product for each guest.
Serve soft and hard skewers on a common board so that it is convenient to transfer the cheese to your plate.

How to cut cheese beautifully

For each type of cheese, there is a specific slicing technique. It is important to cut each type of cheese on a separate board, because the delicate texture of the cheese easily absorbs the tastes of foreign products, especially harsh ones, such as onions, garlic, meat, smoked meats. Cheese should be taken out of the refrigerator half an hour before slicing, but should be stored in a package. The finished dish can be covered with a glass lid and stored in the cold until serving. Instead of a lid, cling film is sometimes used.

Soft moldy cheeses should be cut into triangles, hard ones into thin slices using a wide sharp knife. For a children's table, you can cut out any cheese figures using cookie cutters. Mozzarella is served in the form of balls or cut into rectangular or semicircular pieces of medium thickness, depending on the shape of the head. Feta is served in cubes, brine suluguni - in small round slices. A special knife with a wavy blade will help to cut the cheese beautifully. You can buy such a device at any cookware store.

cheese plate

In the original, spicy and hard varieties require a round wooden plate. Soft cheeses should be served on a glass saucer or a special plate with a thin leg. Now the product is also served in ceramic, porcelain, earthenware, depending on the design of the table. In stores, you can buy cheese plates with dividing compartments for different varieties and snacks, with a glass lid and a small carving knife included.

How to make a cheese plate

The first thing you need is to choose high-quality, fresh cheese of foreign or national production. To do this, it is better to go to specialized stores where you can not only try a real product, but also get advice from consultants. Cheese does not have to be bought immediately before the feast - it can be stored for a long time in a cool place. Making a cheese plate is very simple: you need to cut the product thinly, carefully place it on a plate, add the rest of the ingredients and sauce.

Cheese plate with honey and nuts

These products are in almost every home. Cheese plate with honey and nuts can be prepared in a minimum amount of time. You can use any honey to your taste: buckwheat, forest, meadow are suitable for rich hard cheeses; to fatty and soft cheeses - light, light. Try elite cheeses with a long maturation period: their quality and exquisite taste will pleasantly surprise you. The original addition will be a few drops of balsamic vinegar, seeds. Cheese with honey is a wonderful, win-win combination of products and a great snack.

Cheese plate with grapes

Another option for a gourmet dish is a cheese plate with grapes. Additionally, serve light honey in a separate bowl. Choose large grape varieties, arrange them one by one or a whole bunch on the side, and as an addition, you can use apples, pears, plums. These decorations are suitable for soft, fragrant brie and camembert cheeses, for creamy dorble and gorgonzola.

How to serve a cheese plate

You can serve a cheese plate with appetizers or desserts. In the second case, you need to supplement the treat only with fruits and nuts, cut into thin, small pieces and spread on a common dish. For a classic serving, use different types of cheese, one large plate, or several small ones if you have a long table and many guests. Next to the plate, you can put a glass with bread sticks, olives or vegetables. Do not place cheese next to cold cuts, do not put baked goods.

Cheese platter can now be found in almost every restaurant. This is a favorite snack of many people, and its preparation takes no more than ten minutes. The main rules for serving cheese from famous chefs:

Dense, rich cheeses should be paired with similar wines that have a bright, strong aroma. Conversely, softer types of cheese should be selected for light drinks.
Chefs try to compose the dish in such a way that it contains 6 different tastes: fresh, neutral, sweetish gentle, bright seasoned, spicy.
In establishments with a rich wine list, it is customary to add to the menu a list of cheese varieties that are suitable for a particular wine.
Camembert, brie and some blue cheeses are sometimes served whole heads, which weigh about 300 grams.
Cheese is cut in such a way that 3 components are visible: crust, edge, core. Partial leakage of the liquid middle from soft grades onto the board is allowed.

Video: Making a cheese plate

How to eat cheese in a restaurant?

Learning how to cut and eat elite cheeses in a restaurant is very simple. When a waiter approaches you with a rich assortment of cheeses on a tray, indicate which varieties you prefer to taste. If the cheese plate has already been served, you can choose the cheese you like and transfer the slice to your plate. The main thing is not to try to take the most attractive part of the cheese, the thing is that for many cheeses the top and middle differ in color and taste, so it would be bad form to take one thing for yourself. In addition, do not prick a piece from a common plate with a fork; for this, there are special cutlery for cheese. It can be a cheese fork or a knife with two cloves at the end, along the blade of which there are cavities (air cells appear in them when cutting, so the tender cheese does not wrinkle and stick well from the knife). It happens that there are several devices (each type of cheese has its own device), do not confuse them so as not to mix the flavors of cheeses.

Don't take it with your hands!

Eating cheese with your hands, or with a common knife or a dessert spoon is unacceptable, according to the etiquette for delicacies, only a knife and fork is used, or you can limit yourself to just a fork. The only exceptions are braided cheese, the pigtails of which go by hand, as well as processed cheese, which is spread on a bun with a butter knife.

Cheese plate

If you want to serve a cheese plate at home, then do it right. For the dish, you need to choose at least 4 varieties of cheese, which should differ in taste, color, texture and shape of slices - let it be triangles, slices, slices, pyramids, and so on.

The cheese plate also needs to be decorated correctly, the pieces are placed clockwise on a large round dish, marble or wooden board, so that guests first enjoy light varieties and finish with the most savory ones. Let Adyghe, Suluguni or mozzarella go first, then neutral Camembert, Brie or Reblochon, then spicy Gruyère or Pecorino, and at the end of the composition put the most tart Roquefort or deliciously fragrant livaro in the central part of the plate. If you want to serve bread and fruits with cheeses, then put them in a separate bowl so as not to distract the attention of guests from the main dish.

Slicing Features

In order for the cheese plate to have a decent look, you need to be able to cut the cheese correctly and purchase the necessary accessories for this.

Superhard varieties of long-term aging (Rigiano, Parmeggiano, Old Amsterdammer, Grana filed) cut with an ordinary knife - it won’t work, the cheese will turn into crumbs. For these types of cheese, there are special devices - this is a special parmesan knife, in the form of a short blade with a wide blade

or a Norwegian knife, a spatula that, like a vegetable peeler, cuts very thinly, as if peeling.

Hard pressed cheeses (Dutch, Russian, mimolet, gouda, chaddar) are usually cut into slices. If you bought a whole head, then cut it into two halves, and then cut neat thin triangles from one of them.

Square cheeses are cut into pieces, and then each is cut into slices of the desired thickness. A knife with a large blade is best suited for this. Moreover, this should be done no earlier than half an hour before the visit of guests, otherwise the cheese may become covered with an unwanted crust.

You can cut semi-hard cheeses of a cylindrical shape using a special screw device that will cut them into beautiful spirals. If your kitchen does not have such a thing, then make it easier - divide the head of cheese across into round pieces, and then cut each of them into triangles.

Soft cheeses (brie, camembert, livaro) are very delicate, so do not try to cut them into slices, they will quickly spread on the plate. Soft varieties of cheese, as a rule, lie whole, the guests themselves cut off as much as they need with a knife with holes on the blade and two prongs at the end; this is what is called a knife for cutting soft cheeses. Of course, if the head of cheese is large, then put not a whole circle on the table, but separate one large triangle.

How to cut cheese into thin slices. Cheese plate - assorted composition

Decorating a cheese plate

Combined cheese and meat platter

Tools

Products for cutting

The composition of the cheese plate