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2 1 December 2018 SNACKING NEWS SNACKING NEWS middle; you can scrape your harder cheeses into thinner slices with those, and that's a nice one to always have on hand." However, she also said to have a parmesan knife for even harder cheeses, like Granqueso ® , because they crumble and it's often better to break them up instead of slicing them into triangles. Boska offers the Parmesan Knife Monaco in its Pro Collection, with a pointed oval blade and a single-steel construction for control and dura- bility while breaking up those hard cheeses. For a go-to knife to use for most cheeses, Swissmar also offers a Universal Cheese Knife in stainless steel. "Having a classic knife available is always nice for stock," said De- spins. They're all very useful, and it depends on how much of a connoisseur a consumer is, but if someone's shopping cheese knives in general, even looking in that direction, they probably care quite a bit about what they're choosing. Having individual knives for individual cheeses is cru- cial for anyone who wants to preserve the distinct flavors of each cheese on a board, according to Herb Eckhouse, co-Owner of La Quercia, which produces artisan cured meats in Iowa. "If you're going to have different types of cheese, you're going to want one implement per cheese," he said. "If you have a harder cheese like a Parmigiano that you're cutting with a spade knife, you don't want to be using that on your blue cheese, or the knife you're using on your triple cream on your blue cheese, so I think you need one knife per cheese if you're putting them out there to cut." Herb Eckhouse's wife and fellow La Quercia co-Owner Kathy Eckhouse added that having knives on the board is important for presentation as well, and to lessen any anx- iety guests might have about cutting their own cheese. "I love to leave the cheeses uncut," she said. "You have to monitor it a bit because some people really make a mess of it, though. I like to have a really attractive whole piece of cheese on the board, and then some cut up with it as an indicator of how to do it correctly." Another crucial component that literally supports the entire cheeseboard is the board itself ― both visually and physically, whether it's wood or marble or other- wise. "Your board is definitely key," said Despins. "That's a lot of what people are going to remember, is how beautiful your board is, the ones that you choose. You can find some really great cheeseboards these days for prices that are reasonable." She said she prefers mar- bles over woods because if cheese sits out for a long time at a gathering, the oils can stain the wood. "I prefer to put cheese on marble boards when I serve at home because it keeps my boards looking fresh for longer," she said. "If you're going to go with a wood board, def- initely get something that's really nice, that won't stain. Spend a little more on it to make sure it's something nice." One of the high-quality wood options is the Cheese Board Friends XL from Boska, a large, round European oak board that's practical for multiple cheeses and pairings with plenty of room for cutting. A little hand soap and a rub with olive oil is all that's needed to maintain it after use. And in addition to wood and mar- ble, cheeseboards come in slate, like Brooklyn Slate Co.'s Slate Cheese Board, available in four sizes, in red or black, sourced from the company's family slate quarry in upstate New York, packaged in a burlap bag with soapstone chalk that allows users to write on the board. The option of writing on the board could let party hosts label cheeses or draw fun designs to make the spread even more memorable. The cheese itself, along with the pairings to match, is just as important or more so than the tools when getting creative with a cheeseboard. "What's nice is to have fairly large pieces of cheese, maybe three distinct kinds," said Kathy Eckhouse. "They look so pretty when the pieces are big." Herb Eckhouse added that the right choices of meats and cheeses compliments guests on their taste and displays knowledge of what's going on in the food world ― for example, that American charcuterie like the cured meats by La Quercia is gaining traction ― so it's impor- tant to have a good combination. "There are two basic schools: One is contrast, and the other is complement," he said. "I'm probably more in the complement side, where I like to have things that are complementary flavors, not highly contrasting flavors. If you have a Parmigiano, an Alpine cheese, an Alpha Tolman from [Cellars at] Jasper Hill, those have a lot of umami flavor that you get with a plain prosciutto." The Eckhouses recommended dried fruit, nuts, fennel or cherry tomatoes as a contrasting palate cleanser be- tween cheeses and meats. "If you're trying to make a statement, you want to communicate that you have the full lexicon," Herb Eckhouse said. As for the main meats and cheeses, they said it's important to set up the board so guests don't get a blast of flavor from the get-go. "It's re- ally important you don't put anything on the board that blows your mouth out, where that's all you can taste," said Kathy Eckhouse. "One of the phrases we like to use about our meats is that we want them to play well with others. They'll share the world with other flavors and don't take over. You don't want to taste just one thing for the next two hours. There can be a star of the show, but the star shouldn't preempt every other performer from having a moment. Each item needs to share the space." Herb Eck- house said if hosts start the board with an extremely spicy meat or cheese, "it's difficult to taste anything else. We would recommend arranging boards in accordance with intensity of flavor. You don't want to eat the most intense flavors first; you want to eat the most delicate flavors first and progress to the more intense flavors. The idea is that once you take the volume up high, it's harder to hear the softer tones." Retailers who can make a statement with a cheese- board using their own products in the store have a good chance of extending sales. "I would recom- mend, especially during the holidays, creating cheeseboards in-store," said Despins. "A lot of cheese buyers, especially if they're not connois- seurs, don't know where to start. The best thing people can do with this is c r o s s - p r o - mote prod- ucts; if you have a selec- tion of c h e e s e s , put some jams and nuts and c r a c k e r s with them, pull them all together and sell them to- gether. Even sell them with the cheese knives ― here's the cheese, here's the knife you need, here's a great pairing ― and there's no question, they can just walk up and shop and have every- thing they need to put together a great cheeseboard. Consumers want help with cheese; it's much like wine, where we can love it and feel like we know it, but there's always more to know. Any help you can give consumers is great, so tell them about pairings you've tried or knives you've used with a cheese. Consumers are hungry for that, they want that direction, so any cross-promotion ideas are a great way to help the con- sumer along and sell more products." Retailers who want to put out a spread can try look- ing up cheeseboards on Instagram, which Herb Eck- house said is full of inspiring cheeseboard artists. "There's a great flowering of cheeseboard artists out there. If you go on Instagram, there are amazing dis- plays, and I would encourage shop owners to check that out and embrace their artistic tendencies to make some- thing they think is pretty and attractive," he said. "If they want to throw a couple edible flowers on there, put dried cherries and apricots and cherry tomatoes or whatever, I think they should embrace their artistic in- stincts ― because really, at the end of the day, if you put out great ingredients it's going to be fun. You can't go wrong." He added that he sees retailers doing small carry-out boards, with a moderate price point for boards that work for two people, to plant the idea in the cus- tomers' heads that it's something they can do at home. "Some of our retailers are offering in-store eating and dining opportunities, setting up boards there and chang- ing them out on a regular basis," he said. He also rec- ommended providing recipes online for customers and recommending pairings, and recommending ensembles at stores that sell wines, beers and ciders in addition to tools, meats and cheeses. "I don't think you can really go wrong with this," said Kathy Eckhouse. "It's all food that's safe at room temperature, it's all food that people like, so it's pretty difficult to do it wrong." Herb Eckhouse added: "Yeah! The one mistake people should avoid is not trying. You gotta get in the game." n

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