There are over 700 named cheeses being produced in the UK

Aiming the increase awareness of cheese in the UK, the British Cheese Board have the following tips for creating the perfect cheeseboard this Christmas:

• Cheese is best enjoyed fresh, although it can be stored in a cool environment for anything from a couple of days to several months, depending on the type of cheese.

• Buy softer cheeses such as Brie and Camembert in advance so that it has a chance to ripen.

• When storing cheese, either wrap it tightly in foil or cling film or keep in an airtight container in the bottom part of the fridge.

• To bring out its full flavour, cheese should always be served at room temperature. Therefore, to get the most out of your cheese this Christmas, remember to take it out of the fridge up to two hours before serving.

• Avoid using the same knife to cut different cheeses as this can lead to the flavours contaminating one another.

• If you’ve bought more cheese than you can eat this Christmas, it is possible to freeze certain open textured cheeses such as Stilton very effectively as the texture allows the ice crystals to form in the tiny gaps. Once defrosted in the fridge overnight, the texture and flavour is not affected.

• With hard cheese like Cheddar the dense nature of the cheese means the ice crystals force the hard cheese apart, so when hard cheese defrosts it becomes crumbly. You can solve this problem to a large extent by grating hard cheeses prior to freezing.

• For the ultimate Christmas cheeseboard, select between three and five cheeses of different types and textures, including hard (e.g. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, Wensleydale or Cheshire), soft (e.g. Somerset Brie or Cornish Camembert) and blue (e.g. Stilton, Blue Lancashire, Shropshire Blue or Blue Wensleydale) cheeses. You could also include a blended cheese (e.g. White Stilton with Mango and Ginger), and local cheeses, too.

• Serve with natural ingredients - these traditionally include grapes, apples, tomatoes, parsley, celery or pickles, but don’t be afraid to unleash your imagination.

• Offer the cheese alongside biscuits or crackers that don’t taste too strong or salty. Or as suggested above, if you’re serving Wensleydale or Cheshire on your cheeseboard, why not offer some Christmas cake for a wonderfully festive combination.

• For some seasonal flair, spruce up your cheeseboard with some Christmas decorations.
Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board, said, ‘Christmas is a time when we traditionally eat a lot of Stilton. But, with over 700 named cheeses currently being produced in the UK, the festive season is the perfect time to branch out and try something different.’