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| cheese knives and a cheese board |
A couple of years ago I attended a Christmas swap party where the gift limit was fifty dollars. This set of cheese knives and board is what I got. I'm not sure if the set fit the dollar amount but I have come to use this set more than I ever expected. Although the black hard resin handles do not appeal to my design eye, the purposefulness of the knives long ago overrode that flaw. I've truly come to love and respect these knives.
The top knife is intended for soft cheese which is spread, such as Philadelphia cheese, marscarpone or goat cheese. The edge of the knife is ridged for cutting but the rounded tip tells us it's for use as a spreader, much like a butter spreader on a dinner table.
The middle knife is intended for soft cheese with a rind, like a brie or a camembert or an epoisses. The serrated blade of the knife will cut through the rind and the open circles allow the knife to pass through the cheese without sticking to the soft texture of the cheese--very ingenious holes.
The bottom knife is designed for hard cheese, like aged gouda, cheddar or parmesan. One would use the double-pointed tip to pick up the slice of cheese after cutting.
Always serve your cheese on a nice board, and offer an odd number of cheeses at a time. A singular cheese is fine as well, just make it an exceptional choice. I like to accompany my cheese board with dried fruit, nuts, homemade jams and a selection of breads and crackers. Apples, pears or orange supremes are nice too. How do you offer your cheese?
And here's a handy visual from My French Country Home to show you how to cut the cheese:
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| know how to cut the cheese |
3 comments:
This is fascinating, I have never seen these types of knives before.
I also enjoyed the diagrams on how to cut the various cheeses. Interesting.
That's an impressive assortment of cheese knives, Joseph! Ours pales by comparison.
We generally serve a selection of cheese on a board with a baguette when we're in Paris, but when we're in the States, I tend to serve it with sliced pears, fig spread and crackers. During the winter, one of Stephane's favorite dinners is a variety of cheese with small boiled potatoes. It's a very Swiss dinner, kind of like raclette.
Another one of Stephane's favorite cheeses is Swiss "monk's head" cheese. Here's the link to see how it is served.
Can you guess who the cheese eater is in our family? Stephane would be happy with cheese and a baguette for dinner every evening.
Mike and I have a friend who would cherish this as a gift.
Thanks for the great post and Christmas gift idea!
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