As you may know, Christmas in my part of the world is a hot summers day. To me, that means swimming, barbeques, prawns and cocktails. This year, Christmas is at my place, so of course I want to be sharing my gorgeous home made cheese for my family to enjoy. I will be kicking off the day with a couple of cheesy starters before our traditional Christmas barbeque, and in this post I want to share my Christmas cheese board ideas for summer.
If you haven’t already read my post about the cheese filled brioche Christmas Tree, you can check that out here. That will be served alongside my Hot Summers Christmas Cheese Board. Of course, if you live in a place where Christmas is white, I’ve got you covered too. You can read all about my version of a White Christmas Cheese Board here.
What Cheese Is A Summer Cheese?
If you are planning to make a Hot Summers Christmas Cheese Board, you will want to pick out a few cheeses that make you think of summer. To me, this means mild cheeses that pair well with summer produce like avocado, cherries and grapes. You will also want to think about how well the cheese will sit outside in the heat.
If you don’t have a wide range of home made cheeses in your cheese cave, then of course just use what you have, it will work out great anyway. And if you haven’t got any cheese stored, it is not too late! There are a few fresh cheeses that you will be able to whip up in the week before Christmas. I listed these in my previous article for the White Christmas Cheese Board, but here it is again just in case you missed it.
A Quick Cheese To Make
Chevre – This will only take a couple of days to make and you will be able to store it for 2-3 days in your fridge. It has a very mild taste so can be easily flavoured with herbs or condiments. This makes it perfect for a cheese board.
Cream Cheese – Make this cheese in 2-3 days and store in your fridge for 2 weeks. Cream cheese may not be your first thought for a cheese board, however you can make a variety of dips with it, or serve it as is with chorizo or smoked fish.
Queso Fresco – This beautiful cheese only takes a few hours to make and can be stored for 1 week in your fridge. This is the perfect cheese for beginners! It has a mild taste so will adopt any flavours you decide to make or serve with it.
Rich Ricotta – Make this in a couple of hours and store for 5 days in your fridge. You can use this in a similar way that you would use cream cheese.
Feta – Make it in 4 days and store for several weeks in brine or flavoured olive oil. This is a great choice for a cheese board as it can be served as pre-cut cubes or as a block for guests to cut themselves. Plus, if you store the feta in olive oil you can add some great flavours to it to make it the star of your board.
Mozzarella – This will take 2-3 days to make and can be stored for 7 days in your fridge. Perfect for a summer board, it can be served up traditionally with tomato and basil.
Cheese Board Ideas – My Top Picks For The Hot Summers Christmas Cheese Board
With so many cheeses to choose from, it can be hard to only pick a few to serve to your guests. So I have narrowed down a few select cheeses that I think are perfect for summer. Here it goes:
Mozarella
Chevre
Feta
Ricotta
I picked these cheeses in particular because of their mild and fresh tastes and textures. Of course, if your personal favourite is not on the list, go ahead and use that anyway.
After going through my own cheese cave, I have decided that I will be using Vacchino Romano, Gouda flavoured with cumin seeds and Chevre, which I will be making another batch of before Christmas.
Loading Up The Hot Summers Cheese Board
Christmas for me is about simple ingredients and fresh produce. So I have taken that on board when choosing what to serve my 3 cheeses with. Here is my full list of what I am including in on the Hot Summers Christmas Cheese Board:
Vacchino Romano
Gouda flavoured with fennel seeds
Chevre
Prosciutto
Coppa, or capocollo
Quince paste
Chilli jam
Grapes
Crackers
And of course, no cheese board is complete without drinks. I will be serving mine with white wine and my favourite summer cocktail; a peach and lime mojito.
I hope these cheese board ideas have inspired you to share your home made cheese with your family and friends this Christmas. Do you have any comments, questions or ideas about my Hot Summers Loaded Cheese Board? Or are you planning on serving up your home made cheese another way? Head over to the forum! We would love to hear from you and see pictures of your own cheese boards 🙂