If you’ve ever hosted a dinner party, chances are you served some sort of cheese board or charcuterie board. Choosing a selection of cheeses for these occasions can be challenging and finding fruits to pair with each cheese even more so. Should you stick to the classics, though they may be a little pedestrian, or push yourself a bit and try something more daring?

To provide professional advice and offer some tips to guide you through your cheese-and-fruit-pairing journey, I asked two cheese experts to share their knowledge and experience to help you create the best cheese board of your culinary life. Nikki Trzeciak is executive chef and senior manager of culinary and sensory at Saputo USA. Cameron Smith — whose nickname is Cheese Whiz — is the maître du fromage at The Inn at Little Washington. Both experts have extensive knowledge of pairing fruits with cheese and have shared their insights and unique ideas with us.

Whether you are throwing an extravagant party or simply want to try something new the next time you have a cheese course, these expert tips will ensure that your next cheese endeavor is a tasty one. So grab some crackers and join me as we explore the delights of cheese and fruit pairings.

Read more: The Best Meat For Your Charcuterie Board Isn’t One You’d Expect

Blue Cheese And Figs

When it comes to cheese and fruit pairings, it doesn’t get much more classic than figs and blue cheese. The intense, salty flavor of the blue cheese is mellowed perfectly by the syrupy taste of the figs, to create a beautifully balanced mouthful. If you are wary of blue cheese, pairing it with figs is a great way to begin appreciating it. The pungency of blue cheese can overwhelm the palate initially, but the sweetness of the figs can make the taste much more manageable and allow you to enjoy the complex flavors of the cheese.

Both Nikki Trzeciak and Cameron Smith recommend blue cheese and figs as a flavor combination that everyone should try, either paired with nothing else or as part of a larger cheese platter. Both fresh and dried figs will work nicely, but Smith is a fan of the dried variety, noting that “a sweet dried fig contrasts the saltiness and blue mold flavor of the cheese.”

Of course, there is no reason to confine this delicious pairing to the cheese course. Consider trying your hand at a gourmet recipe for burgers stuffed with blue cheese and topped with fig jam. The rich beef, salty cheese, and sweet jam create a flavor explosion that will up your burger game permanently.

Cheddar Cheese And Apples

If you like to keep your flavors simple and clean, cheddar and apple is a great combination to try. A crisp, juicy apple paired with tangy mature cheddar makes an exquisite duo, as well as a perfect lunch-box snack for kids.

Switching up the type of apple and the variety of cheddar makes it easy to vary the different notes in this fruit-and-cheese combo. A sharp Granny Smith with a vintage cheddar will create a bold pairing that will certainly wake up your taste buds, whereas a milder cheddar with a sweeter apple such as a gala will offer a more mellow flavor. Nikki Trzeciak recommends using a very mature cheddar and being more inventive with the apple accompaniment, suggesting that “aged cheddar paired with apple butter and candied pecans creates complementary flavors for your palate.”

For a unique twist on this pairing, try baking a loaf of quick bread made with sharp cheddar and apple. It makes a great snack or even a breakfast accompaniment, as the beautiful sweet-and-savory flavors work well with the moist bread.

Goat Cheese And Fresh Berries

If you’re looking for a great fruit-and-cheese pairing for your next garden party or picnic, goat cheese and fresh berries should top your list. With quintessentially summery flavors, the lightness of the cheese and berries will make for a delicious light meal.

Goat cheese has an earthier flavor than cow’s milk cheese, and both cheese experts enjoy pairing it with berries. When asked what classic cheese-and-fruit pairings she would recommend, Nikki Trzeciak chose “goat cheese and fresh berries, because of how the sweetness … balances out the strong notes in those cheeses.” Cameron Smith is also a fan, specifying blueberries as his fruit of choice to match creamy goat cheese. “It is always difficult for me to pick out a personal favorite, but something that I have always enjoyed through the years is blueberries and goat’s milk cheeses,” he said. “I honestly would have it more in a blueberry jam form. But the thing about this is that the goat’s milk cheese has this slightly sour tang and this smooth creaminess, and really makes the sweet blueberries pop!”

This combination can even be enjoyed as a dessert by making a berry crisp with vanilla-flavored goat cheese mousse. With its light and fluffy texture and perfect balance of tangy and sweet notes, this confection will be satisfying without being overly filling.

Black Creek Cheddar And Guava

Sometimes when planning your cheese course, you may be in the mood for something a little more unusual. Nikki Trzeciak has a terrific suggestion in the form of Black Creek cheddar and guava. This refreshing combination will bring tropical notes to your cheese board and surprise your guests with bold flavors.

Black Creek cheddar is a premium cheese that uses high-quality milk from pasture-raised cows to create a rich, smooth dairy product. The aging process results in a delicious, complex flavor that will be a hit as part of any cheese platter. The tangy sweetness of the guava is the perfect complement to the cheese and can simply be served sliced alongside the cheddar.

Alternatively, you could make a guava chutney with aromatic ingredients such as ginger and cilantro and spread some on a cracker along with the Black Creek cheddar. To upgrade your lunch, use any leftover guava chutney and make a knockout grilled cheese sandwich.

Gouda And Peach

If you’ve tried a few different pairings of cheese and fruit, you may be wondering what other combinations work well together, especially if you are planning a large cheese platter for a dinner party or family gathering. Cameron Smith says that while a knowledge of varied cheeses and fruits will allow you to make a good guess as to the best matches, there is no substitute for trying out each pairing.

“I would say, ultimately, that tasting multiple combinations of fruit with the certain cheeses is good, because you might have an idea of balancing sweet and salty, or something like that, but it’s when you actually taste the fruit and cheese together that you can really tell if the flavor combination works,” he says. “So, I would go about the pairing from experience, versus an educated guess.”

One suggestion from his substantial experience is the combination of Gouda and peach. “The juicy peach goes well with a bit of butterscotch and caramel flavors from the aged Gouda,” says Smith. This mellow combination will sit well on a cheese board next to some of the bolder pairings, offering a sweeter option to create a breadth of flavors across the platter. Be sure to choose beautifully ripe peaches to create a sweet, juicy contrast to the nutty Gouda. If you don’t have any Gouda available, you could substitute it with some mature cheddar. While Gouda and cheddar have differences, the cheddar will still pair well with succulent peaches.

Treasure Cave Blue Cheese And Watermelon

When asked what needs to be considered when pairing fruits with cheese, Nikki Trzeciak answered, “Reckless abandon — have fun and try everything! Most cheeses are pungent with some sour and/or bitter notes, and the sweet in fruit helps balance those strong notes and brings everything into balance.” In the spirit of trying new and unusual combinations, give one of Trzeciak’s favorite combinations a go: Treasure Cave blue cheese and watermelon.

Treasure Cave produces a crumbly blue cheese with a sharp, salty flavor that balances beautifully with watermelon. The sweet, juicy melon provides a refreshing contrast to the rich cheese and creates a bold combination that is surprising and delightful.

To enjoy this sumptuous duo at its best, keep things simple with a watermelon and blue cheese salad. Remove the seeds from the watermelon and cut the fruit into bite-sized cubes, then crumble a generous portion of Treasure Cave blue cheese over the top. Thin slices of raw red onion will provide a sharp flavor that will lift the salad, and a sprinkling of fresh herbs will complete the dish. This salad will be visually stunning, as the cheese contrasts with the vibrant red watermelon, making this a wonderful dish for a summer garden party.

Montchevre Goat Cheese And Cherries

Sometimes cheese can blur the lines between savory and dessert, and one of Nikki Trzeciak’s favorite pairings does exactly that. “Montchevre triple crème goat cheese with dark chocolate and cherries brings in that tangy flavor and sweet flavor that balances each other out,” she explains. The bitter notes from the chocolate with the tangy sweetness of the cherries, all contrasted by the rich creamy cheese, creates a dish that fits happily between sweet and savory.

One novel idea for this unique flavor combination is to make decadent dessert mini pizzas. Using an English muffin or crepe as the base, spread on the creamy goat cheese and top it with delicious fresh cherries and a drizzle of melted dark chocolate. This can be a fun way to introduce children to the flavor of goat cheese in a reasonably familiar form, and these treats make a great dessert to serve at a family gathering.

Halloumi And Watermelon

Time for your taste buds to head to the Mediterranean, for a fruit-and-cheese combination that will have you dreaming of balmy summer nights and walks along the beach. Halloumi and watermelon are both popular ingredients in countries such as Cyprus and Greece, and they come together to make a cracking twosome for your cheese course.

Unlike the other cheeses on our list, halloumi is cooked before being eaten. While it can technically be eaten raw, the texture is not particularly enjoyable — but once it hits a griddle pan for a few minutes, that’s a different story. Though it doesn’t melt like mozzarella or cheddar, it softens and turns golden brown, providing a satisfyingly chewy texture and mild flavor. Cameron Smith is a fan of the watermelon and halloumi pairing, saying that “the summer watermelon gets a little salt from the halloumi.” The contrast of salty, sweet, and juicy makes for a delicious mouthful with various textures at play.

Watermelon is a great fruit to consume regularly thanks to its wealth of health benefits, including its potential to reduce blood pressure and improve digestion. Plating some watermelon alongside grilled halloumi allows you to enjoy a light midweek meal that is packed with nutrients, as well as flavor.

Goat Cheese And Dried Apricot

When considering your pairings for fruit and cheese, you may wonder whether fresh or dried fruit is the best option. Both of the cheese experts feel that it depends on the situation, as both dried and fresh fruits can make great companions to cheese.

“This is all about texture and balance for me,” says Nikki Trzeciak. “Dried fruits are stronger and more concentrated in flavor, which works great with dry, pungent cheese. Mellow and softer cheeses are lovely with fresh berries, peaches, melons, and grapes — but there is no right way to do this, it is whatever tastes best to your palate.”

Cameron Smith agrees and suggests that fresh and dried fruit can share space on a cheese platter. “I really like to have both,” he says. “Sometimes you might want the concentration of flavors and sweetness of a dried fruit to stand up to a stronger cheese, such as a blue cheese for example, or sometimes you might want to have the fresh fruit for a more subtle flavor to pair with more delicate cheeses, such as a mild brie.” One example where Smith enjoys dried fruit is when pairing goat cheese with dried apricots, which provide a more concentrated hit of sweetness compared to fresh apricots, allowing them to counteract the rich and creamy cheese.

Roncal And Dragon Fruit

Sometimes it pays to think outside the box when pairing cheese and fruit, and perhaps even try ingredients that you’re not entirely familiar with. One of Cameron Smith’s more unusual suggestions is to combine Roncal and dragon fruit. Roncal cheese is a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese named after the Basque region valley where it is made.

“Surprisingly, the dried dragon fruit made me think of aromas of hay and meadow pastures,” says Smith. “When I had it with the cheese, it helped take on some of the oiliness of the butterfat from the sheep’s milk, but also kind of made you think of what the sheep were eating while grazing, with those flavors layered in perfectly with the buttery sourdough-bread-like flavors of the cheese.”

Enjoy this unconventional combination by creating a dragon fruit and Roncal salad, incorporating nuts such as macadamias or pecans with the cheese and fruit. Among the types of dragon fruit, the most popular variety in the U.S. is white dragon fruit, and its striking black-and-white flesh will make your salad visually stunning, as well as delicious.

Gouda And Blackberries

While some cheese-and-fruit combinations are classics that are known worldwide, there is nothing to say that you can’t get more creative in your quest for new flavor explosions. “I think it’s nice to think outside the box and to not always try to follow a set of pairing rules,” says Cameron Smith, as he encourages experimenting to discover the best pairings to suit individual tastes. “Sometimes unexpected pairings can come from combinations which might not seem to work before trying them.”

Putting a lot of effort into coming up with the perfect pairing is not always necessary, and sometimes you just need to follow your instincts. “I think sometimes you don’t need to think about the science of why a fruit and a cheese work well together,” says Smith. “Your mind will just tell you that you like it.”

With that in mind, consider preparing a creatively mouthwatering lunch by combining deliciously sharp blackberries with a few slices of nutty Gouda to make a blackberry grilled cheese. A few slices of prosciutto will complete the filling, which brings together the flavors of a charcuterie board within a sandwich. The tangy berries pair brilliantly with both the gooey melted cheese and the delicate prosciutto, creating a deliciously upgraded grilled cheese sandwich that will keep you satisfied throughout the afternoon.

Parmesan And Strawberries

The wonderful thing about learning to pair cheese with fruit is that sometimes you will come across a suggestion for a combination that you wouldn’t even have considered. “Everyone has different tastes when it comes to pairings, so I always say have fun, play around, and taste everything,” says Nikki Trzeciak. “Since balance is the name of the game, these flavor profiles pair very nicely together: sweet and salty, bitter and sour, sweet and spicy, and sweet and sour.”

The ultimate sweet-and-salty combination is to pair ultra-umami Parmesan cheese with super-ripe strawberries. “Stella Parmigiano Reggiano with strawberries and balsamic and charred bread gives you a nice tart-but-fruity taste to create that savory-and-sweet combination,” suggests Trzeciak.

Be sure to buy good-quality Parmesan, which can be sliced thinly and served on top of the bread with a thick balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top. You could also grate a little Parmesan on top as well, but make sure to avoid the dried stuff you get in the pantry section of the grocery store — fresh Parmesan is the only option here!

Read the original article on Tasting Table.