Why Grazing Boards are the secret ingredient!

A good cheese board starts not only with good cheese, a wide variety of cheese but also the board it is presented on.  Picking the right grazing board can make the difference between an everyday nondescript platter and one that is a showstopper.  Wow your guests with that showstopper. 

So, what is the ideal cheese board made of?  The best cheese boards are typically made from hardwood or marble or a combination of the two:

• Acacia a semi-hardwood is well known for its durability and is quickly becoming one of the most popular woods for chopping and grazing boards. Not only is Acacia affordable but also stunning to look at.
• Mango wood categorized as a hardwood is another excellent choice as it is strong, durable, and sustainable. It comes in varying shades ranging from light brown to dark tones, hence making each piece unique and visually appealing. 
• Bamboo even though it looks like wood it is classified as grass. Bamboo a renewable resource that grows rapidly is considered an eco-conscious choice for a cheese board.  Another plus point is that bamboo has antimicrobial properties making it food safe. 

Wooden boards have consistently shown the ability to halt the growth of and kill harmful bacteria that come in contact with their surface.  As the wooden board naturally absorbs moisture, bacteria are unable to multiply and do not survive.

Is marble a good choice for a cheese board?  Boards made from marble or granite or a combination of the two stones make for exceptional presentation platters.  Take it to another level by combining marble and wood in a cheese board.  Marble is easy to keep clean.  Marble provides the best temperature zone for your cheese platter due to its ability to transfer heat away from your cheese, helping to keep the cheese cool and save it from melting.  On a particularly hot day you can chill the marble board prior to serving.  So here is a board that is not only aesthetically pleasing but one that is also highly functional.

While we are on the topic of cheese boards let us not forget about the mighty cheese knives.  The cheese spreader as the name suggests is used for spreading cream cheese on to bread or crackers.  The pronged cheese knife allows you to cut the cheese and then pick it up with the prongs.  The flat cheese knife or chisel knife is used for breaking off softer, crumbly cheeses like blue cheese.  The flat surface is then used for spreading the cheese. 

Now for the fun bit, dressing up the platter.  Be limited only by your imagination!  A fruit platter, an array of cheese, Charcuterie or even a BLT board.  Bring that board to life at lunch time with a BLT platter; crisp bacon, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, toasted sourdough, aioli, mayonnaise…. the list is endless.  A sweet grazing platter could be a showstopper.  Picture a board topped with lollies, truffles, fudge squares, chocolate covered strawberries, raspberries, maybe some dried fruit to top it all off.

One can rightly say that one can never have enough grazing platters!