The Best Cheese Pairing For Apples Is A Timeless Classic

While your Instagram feed might be full of elaborate, million-dollar charcuterie boards, there's not always a need to go over-the-top with yours. Building a charcuterie board should be an intentional process, focusing on flavor over aesthetic fabulousness. In fact, authentic French charcuterie boards are actually super basic; what makes them so delicious is their use of high-quality and expertly-curated ingredients that pair well together. Although you might want to reach for the decorated goat cheese, sometimes simple is just better. It might surprise you, but Matthew Rose, partner of Fairfield and Greenwich Cheese Company, recommends pairing apples with the humble cheddar cheese. It's a classic tried-and-true duo that's guaranteed to knock your socks off — especially if you indulge in high-quality products. 

"Apples are best paired with dense, fudgy, and powerful cow's milk cheeses," Rose explained. Because apples are so tart, they act as a palate cleanser of sorts, especially when paired with an intense cheese that might overwhelm your taste buds on its own. "Many places in the world make fabulous cheddar, and that is always a timeless pairing," he continued. "The dense and savory acidity of the cheese and the intensely bright fruit with some sweetness will never not be breathtaking." When deciding on a cheddar cheese, you'll likely notice the wide variety of them: aged, sharp, vintage, mild, and more. Each of them have their own distinct flavor profiles and will offer you a totally complex and unbeatable flavor when paired with sweet, crispy apples. 

To craft the perfect fruit and cheese duo, we recommend beginning with a mildly-sweet apple, like a Gala. No matter how long your cheddar cheese has been aged for, you'll find that the Gala apple will provide just the right amount of sweetness to balance out cheddar's distinct saltiness. Its crispiness, too, will bring a refreshing bite to your charcuterie board to break up the cheddar's denseness. If you prefer a Fuji or a Honeycrisp, those apples will also work well since they offer a similar flavor and texture. The only types of apples we wouldn't pair with cheddar are soft ones, like Crimson Golds or Opals, because their textures will clash, bringing a graininess that nobody wants to encounter on a charcuterie board.

Beyond cheddar, Matthew Rose also recommends going for a nuttier type of cheese, like the French Comté. This is another one of the best fruit and cheese pairings because it "has lots of natural nutty and bready undertones that are also a perfect backdrop for good apples," he said. Another cow's milk cheese, young Comté has a mild taste, while older Comté becomes nuttier the longer it ages. For the ultimate pairing, go for an older Comté and a sweeter apple to help balance out the rich, caramelly nature of the cheese.