Nothing says gourmet cheese plate like a variety of cheeses, unique accompaniments, different textures of bread and crackers, and five Brine’s Fine Honeys’ varietal honeys: Minnesota Wildflower Honey, Cranberry Honey, Coriander Honey, Carrot Honey, and Buckwheat Honey. Check out the why and how of these honey and cheese pairings and enjoy mingling delicious flavor notes on a cheese plate.
Brine’s Fine Honeys Cheese Pairings
Adding one type of honey or a variety of honeys to a well-thought-out cheese plate can majorly enhance the flavor of the cheese. The sweet, complex notes of the honey can balance the saltiness and savory profile of the cheese(s) used. Ahead are five different pairings of Brine’s Fine Honey varietals with five kinds of cheese that will make each other’s flavors sing. For each pairing, the chosen honey can either be drizzled over the top of its paired cheese before serving or can be provided along with each cheese, so the guest can have fun drizzling their own honey over each pairing. The amount of each cheese used depends on the number of eaters. If the amount of each cheese increases, so too should each amount of whatever accompaniment and bread/crackers are being served alongside them. Since the honey is being drizzled, the honey is the only ingredient that doesn’t need to go up in amount with more guests. Brine’s Minnesota Wildflower Honey is a light, floral honey that blends sweetness, warmth, and earthy stone fruits with a lime-citrus top note that lifts this honey into a heavenly realm and defines the word “pretty.” Here, the Minnesota Wildflower Honey is paired with a Swiss Gruyere cheese, which is a subtle, nutty flavor profile that lets this honey soar. Dried figs also provide an earthy, sweet flavor that, when combined with the wildflower honey and Gruyere on crusty bread, produces an end result that is both deep in flavor and light as a feather. Brine’s Cranberry Honey is fruity and sweet, bringing with it strong flavor notes of earthy, stewed fruit, so the fruity, yet floral combination works wonders with a Danish blue cheese. Unlike other blue cheeses, whose flavor can be overpowering, Danish blue uses only cow’s milk and contains more mild bitterness and salt notes.Danish blue will pair wonderfully with the sweeter Brine’s Cranberry Honey and dried apricots, which meet the stewed fruit layer of the cranberry honey. A fruit-nut bread, such as cranberry-walnut will bring these two heavy hitters together into one sweet and salty pairing. Brine’s Coriander Honey, being one of the most complex honey varieties, its inherent herbal notes include everything from cardamom and ginger to lemon and even black licorice. These complex flavors work well with an extra-creamy, salty triple-creme brie cheese. The luscious creamy texture allows all of the Brine’s Coriander Honey complexity to shine, which is also complemented here by the equally strong flavor of rosemary in the rosemary parmesan bread and briny black olives. Brine’s Carrot Honey contains within itself the flavors of a grassy meadow at dusk. There are undernotes of caramel and even chocolate. Here, the Brine’s Carrot Honey is paired with a harder Petit Basque (or sheep’s milk) cheese, which has an earthy scent and texture of its own. The two make an ideal pair sitting upon a thin cracker with the vinegar tang of cornichons to play the flavors alongside each other so wonderfully. Brine’s Buckwheat Honey is almost molasses-like in its texture and deep color of old wood. The malty, musty notes crave something tangy to brighten them up, so pairing Brine’s Buckwheat Honey with a soft goat’s cheese will bring the goat’s cheese onto a whole other level of flavor. The malty notes go really well with a digestive biscuit, which is slightly sweet with a more substantial texture that can support this powerhouse of deep flavor. Serving the combination with some sweet, deep black grapes will only add even more to this truly unique honey and cheese pairing.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Honey & Cheese Pairing #1Brine’s Minnesota Wildflower Honey & Gruyere Cheese Ingredients● Approximately 1 ounce of Brine’s Wildflower Honey● 2-3 ounces Swiss Gruyere cheese● Few small slices of crusty French bread● Dried figsTips & Tricks1. Have fun with the shapes of the bread used. In this case, crusty bread can be sliced into small, thin pieces so there is surface area to add honey, figs, and cheese, but the bread won’t overtake the pairing.2. Fresh figs pair wonderfully with Brine’s MN Wildflower Honey, but many people like the sweeter, easier accompaniment of dried figs to a cheese plate, especially when they are sliced up and fit in better with the other ingredients.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Honey & Cheese Pairing #2Brine’s Cranberry Honey & Danish Blue Cheese Ingredients● Approximately 1 ounce of Brine’s Cranberry Honey● 2-3 ounces Danish Blue cheese● Few small slices of fruit nut bread like cranberry walnut bread● Dried apricotsTips & Tricks1. Cranberry walnut bread can be bought or made, along with other varieties of bread that reflect the stewed fruit flavor notes of Brine’s Cranberry Honey. These types of bread are denser, so make sure the pieces are not too chunky.2. Just as with the figs, dried apricots should be sliced in half or thirds, but not diced too small. Tiny pieces of dried fruit are not easy to add to a cheese pairing and won’t make as much of an impression on the overall flavor.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Honey & Cheese Pairing #3Brine’s Coriander Honey & Triple-Creme Brie CheeseIngredients● Approximately 1 ounce of Brine’s Coriander Honey● 2-3 ounces Triple-Creme Brie cheese● Few small slices of herbed bread, like rosemary-parmesan bread● Black olivesTips & Tricks1. For the bread, rosemary works wonders with Brine’s Coriander Honey, but any bread that has an herbaceous, savory flavor will work, including garlic-herb bread, olive bread, or focaccia using rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc. 2. When arranging olives on a cheese plate, the olives can be placed into a small pile as done here for a rustic look or put into a small ramekin or bowl to catch any excess oil, if there is a concern with staining the board or plate being used. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Honey & Cheese Pairing #4Brine’s Carrot Honey & Sheep’s Milk CheeseIngredients● Approximately 1 ounce of Brine’s Carrot Honey ● 2-3 ounces Petit Basque or sheep’s milk cheese● A handful of thin textured crackers● CornichonsTips & Tricks1. For harder cheeses like this sheep’s milk cheese, make sure to have a proper cheese knife or sharp knife on hand, so eaters don’t have to struggle to cut into it. For softer cheeses, a more butter-knife type of cheese knife is fine to use. 2. A combination of bread and crackers work wonderfully for a variety of textures to go along with the honey and cheese pairings. A variety pack of crackers will always offer at least a few choices for a good cheese plate.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Honey & Cheese Pairing #5Brine’s Buckwheat Honey & Goat’s Cheese Ingredients● Approximately 1 ounce of Brine’s Buckwheat Honey ● 2-3 ounces Goat’s cheese● A handful of digestive crackers● Black grapesTips & Tricks1. This tip applies to any of the honey varietals. When the honey is crystallized, the desired amount can be added to a glass jar and placed in a bowl of boiling water that has been taken off the heat for 5-10 minutes until the honey softens and yields to the heat.2. Any variety of grapes will do here, but darker black grapes are sweeter in flavor and add to the flavor profile inherent in Brine’s Buckwheat Honey well. Plus, they look great on a cheese plate!
Notes
Recipe development and photography by Maryana L. Vestic