Hosting a cheese tasting party is a fun idea. You can host one for a lot of reasons. It can be for a wedding or bridal shower, an alumni event, or if you simply want to bond with your friends or family members. Maybe you’ve earned a little extra from your work, got a raise, or won in an online casino just like Grandevegas casino bonuses, and you’d like to treat everyone. Whether it’s for a special occasion or just a night in with the guys or girls, a cheese tasting party can be both fun and educational.
Having a cheese tasting party is also a fun way to experiment with new foods and flavors. And since you can prepare almost everything in advance, it is stress-free to host one. You just need a little planning, and you’re good to go. If you are looking into hosting your very own cheese tasting party and you need ideas, then you’re in the right place. Today, we are going to give you tips on how to host a fabulous cheese tasting party with some of the major types of cheese.
Purchase Some Cheese
The first thing you need to do to host a cheese tasting party is to, of course, purchase some cheese. When buying cheese, you need to plan according to the number of guests that you wish to serve. You can allocate 4 to 6 ounces of cheese per guest. It’s better if you know the kinds of cheese that your friends or guests like. You can also serve 5 to 6 different kinds of cheese, the more, the better.
Make sure that they have different tastes, and don’t be afraid to experiment with a few new varieties, too. As we’ve mentioned earlier, a cheese tasting party is the perfect occasion to experiment with new foods and flavors.
Set Up Your Party
Another part of the preparation is the presentation. For your cheese tasting party, you can find a good spot in your house where you can display the cheese and other food you wish to serve. Remember that cheese is delicious at room temperature. Therefore, bring your cheese out from the fridge an hour before your party starts. It’s also better to cut big chunks of cheese, because they look better and can retain their freshness, as well. But you can also cut off a few slices, as these will encourage your party guests to start tasting the cheese.
To make your cheese plate or table look more fabulous, you can use neutral-colored items to serve them. This can include white platters, marble pastry slabs, and wood cutting boards. These things will be able to make your cheese variety shine.
Serve Foods That Best Pair to Your Cheese Variety
It’s delicious to eat cheese on its own, but for a cheese tasting party, it can be more fun to eat them when paired with a great cracker or fresh fruit. Therefore, when you host a cheese tasting party, make sure to offer your guests different accompaniments to pair with the cheese. You can suggest possible flavor combinations to them and also encourage them to come up with their own. If you are not sure what to serve with your cheese, then some of the common ones are fresh fruits, berries, chocolate, jam, nuts, crackers, olives, sliced Italian meats, honey, and balsamic glaze.
Teach Your Guests the Proper Way to Taste Cheese
A cheese tasting party is also an event where your guests can learn something new. Aside from giving out some trivia about the different kinds of cheese you are serving, you can also teach them the proper way of tasting cheese. Yes, there’s a proper way to do it. If you don’t know how, then here are the steps:
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Sniff: First, inhale, and take a good whiff. Different kinds of cheeses have different aromas, too.
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Size-Up: After sniffing, the next step is to take a look at the cheese. Take note of the appearance. If you are tasting cheddar, then it should be uniform and smooth.
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Slice: After looking that the cheese, pass a knife through. Smooth cheeses are generally easier to slice.
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Savor: And lastly, take a bite and resist the urge to goggle it down. Look for the balanced taste and mouthfeel as you taste the cheese.
Serve Delicious Drinks
Aside from delicious snack pairings, cheese also goes well with wine. To make things simple, you can serve one white wine and one red wine to give your guests options. For the white wine, you can go for light and crisp ones like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. For the red wine, the best choice would be Pinot Noir. You can also have water and soda available for those who do not drink wine or alcoholic beverages.
Play Some Games
And to make your cheese tasting party more fun and alive, you can play some games with your guests. Here are two good games that we can recommend:
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Blind tasting contest: You can serve different cheeses that do not have labels, then have everyone in your party vote for the one they loved. Count the votes before revealing the types of cheeses they’ve tasted.
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Cheese trivia games: If you really want to make your cheese tasting party memorable, then you can play a cheese trivia game. Everyone would also learn a lot about this game.
Enjoy and Relax
And of course, once everything is set, all you need to do is relax and enjoy yourself with your guests. Keep things fun and casual by playing good music. Urge your guests to try out every cheese variety available. And keep in mind that it’s a party, so go and have a great time.
These are some of the best tips that we can give on how to host a fabulous cheese tasting party. We hope that these tips will help you throw the best cheese tasting party for your friends or family.