The Best Type Of Cheese For Citrus Salads

Citrus salads combine tart, juicy fruits — like oranges, lemons, and grapefruits — with leafy greens to create a refreshing, bright salad (via MasterClass). Since citrus fruits thrive all year long, this salad is the perfect winter pick-me-up or refreshing meal in the summer. Although lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit are the most well-known citrus fruits, there are a wide variety of fruits that fall into the category. Other elements, like vinaigrettes, croutons, seeds, and nuts are optional so you can customize your salad to your own personal preferences. Some even recommend adding some avocado to the mix, as per Love & Lemons.

Though cheese and fruit can often be found intermixed on charcuterie boards, the two flavors can be great complementary elements in salads, too. When making a citrus salad, there are certain cheeses that work better than others to elevate the other flavors already present in the dish.

Adding cheese to your citrus salad can be a great way to pack a variety of complementary flavors into your dish. Since citrus fruits are tart, and can sometimes be a little bit sour, the perfect cheese to complement the fruity flavors will be salty, according to MasterClass. The site recommends crumbling feta, goat, or bleu cheese on top of the salad to offset the sweet, tart fruity flavors. The texture difference between the fruit and the cheese can also be a welcome contrast.

The sweet-and-salty combo works because of a contrasting balance between the flavors, according to The PhCheese. Certain cheeses and fruits will bring out specific flavor notes in each other, allowing people to enjoy the full spread of natural flavors in their food. For your next citrus salad, don't be afraid of the savory — a little added salt could be just what your sweeter, fruity salad is missing.