What is the Best Temperature to Serve My Cheese?

This is a commonly misunderstood topic. The short answer is… room temperature.

Think about it, you wouldn’t serve a fine red wine at 38 degrees. The taste of the wine would be suppressed. The taste of cold cheese is underwhelming. Cheese benefits from the ability to come to room temperature as it releases its’ complex aromatic flavors as it warms. A little planning is involved here but your taste buds will be rewarded. Usually an hour is sufficient to allow the cheese to warm to optimal serving temperature.

Tip: if you don’t have the luxury of time to let your cheese warm up on its own you can put it in the microwave for a very short time; start at 10-15 seconds. Be careful, cheese has a high fat content so you can easily overdo it in the microwave.

How warm is too warm? Your cheese is too warm if it starts to sweat or even melt. This problem will likely only occur if you are in a warmer climate and are serving cheese outdoors or in direct sunlight. If this happens, simply put out smaller portions of cheese at a time and refresh the cheese platter more often. The added benefit of cheese at room temp is that your cheese will now be easier to cut with the CheeseHarp!