Creating the Perfect Cheese Plate

The Ultimate Cheese Plate

Laura Werlin's top American and European picks

Cheese-plate pointers

• Serve one to two ounces of cheese per person.
• Include a mix of fresh, aged, soft and hard cheeses.
• Arrange—and sample—the cheeses starting with the freshest and lightest, ending with the ripest and most intense.

Cheese characteristics

Use your cursor to roll over the eight types of cheese pictured below to learn more about the characteristics of each. Click on the type of cheese (Fresh, Washed-rind, etc.) to read Laura Werlin's picks for delicious American and European cheeses.