Pairings That Surprise People
A cheese board usually carries the same accompaniments: crackers, fruit jam, maybe some honey, a few nuts. This is the page for everything else. The pairings that make a guest pause and ask what it is, the ones that turn a familiar wedge of Brie or aged cheddar into something they have not tasted before. None of these are unusual for the sake of being unusual. Each one has a real reason to sit next to cheese — truffle and dairy share the same earthy umami range, chili heat cuts through the fat of an aged cheddar, mostarda's mustard-spiced fruit lifts a blue without overwhelming it.
Most of what we carry here comes from small Italian and French producers who have been pairing these things with cheese for generations. What reads as adventurous in an American cheese-board context is often what someone in Lombardy or the Pyrenees has been eating for a hundred years.
Truffle on Cheese
Truffle honey is the strongest pairing to know about. Truffle and cheese share the same earthy, umami register, and the honey adds a sweetness that softens the fungal note of the truffle and the salt of the cheese at the same time. A teaspoon on a wedge of Brie or Camembert turns it into something closer to a dessert course. A drizzle on aged Pecorino or Parmigiano lifts the crystalline saltiness in the cheese and adds a layer of something that tastes almost like an aged wine.
We carry several truffle honeys, from both sides of the Atlantic. The Italian versions, including Sabatino's reference white truffle honey, are built on a clear acacia base that lets the truffle come through cleanly. White truffle honey runs brighter and more floral; black truffle honey runs deeper and earthier. The American versions usually start from a wildflower honey and infuse it with Italian black summer truffle, which gives a slightly richer base under the truffle note. Any of them works the same way on a cheese board — a teaspoon, no more, on a wedge of Brie or a sliver of aged Pecorino. For the broader range of honey beyond truffle, our honey and mustards collection has acacia, orange blossom, lavender, and other varieties.
Chili Spreads and Pepper Jellies
Heat on cheese is older than American cheese boards realize. The Basques have been eating Espelette chili pepper with their sheep's milk cheeses for several hundred years. Calabrians have done the same with their local chilies and Pecorino. The principle is simple: the heat cuts the fat of a rich cheese, and the slow burn extends what would otherwise be a quick salty-creamy bite into something longer.
We carry several chili spreads built for cheese rather than for tacos. A Calabrian chili garlic spread is the smoky-savory option, with the punch of garlic balancing the chili — it works on creamy cheeses, on a cheddar, or stirred into a soft cheese for a dip. A chili fig spread blends sweet figs with chili heat and pairs with almost anything on a cheese board, from a sharp aged cheese to a fresh chèvre. A Peruvian pepper jam combines piquillo peppers with limo chilies for a brighter, more fruit-forward heat, especially good with a tangy goat cheese. From France, an Espelette pepper jelly uses the AOC-protected chili from the Basque region — a gentle heat with a fruity tickle, traditionally paired with Pyrenees sheep's milk cheeses and equally good with Brie, Camembert, or a washed-rind. For more chili and savory condiments beyond the cheese board, our spices, sauces and condiments collection has the broader range.
Mostarda, Honeycomb, and Other Unexpected Touches
Mostarda is the Italian condiment that gets the least attention in America and deserves more. Born in northern Italy as a way to preserve fruit through the winter, it combines candied fruit with a sharp note of mustard oil — the bite of mustard catching you a moment after the sweetness of the fruit lands. The mostarda we carry uses cherries and figs simmered in cider with mustard seeds, which gives it more depth and spice than a standard fruit jam. It pairs with aged cheeses the way fig jam pairs with Brie, but with more interest. Traditional pairings are aged Parmigiano, Grana Padano, and Pecorino, where the salt of the cheese meets the sharp-sweet fruit. Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and other blue cheeses are also natural matches.
Raw honeycomb is the theatrical pairing. Cut pieces of raw acacia honeycomb set next to a triple-cream or a sharp cheddar at the table; as the wax warms, the honey runs out where the comb meets the cheese, and the comb itself can be eaten or set aside. It is both a visual centerpiece and a genuine pairing, the kind of thing a guest remembers.
For the broader range of savory jams, preserves, and spreads beyond mostarda, our jams and spreads collection covers the rest.
Also Worth Exploring
For the cured meat side of the board, our charcuterie collection covers prosciutto, speck, salami, and the cured pork that traditionally rounds out a cheese plate. For the nut and dried fruit side, our nuts and dried fruits collection has Marcona almonds, Medjool dates, and the dried fruit that pairs with both cheese and charcuterie. And for the board itself, our cheese boards and utensils collection has the wood and marble surfaces, knives, and serving tools to present everything.
Adventurous Cheese Pairings: Frequently Asked Questions
Unusual cheese pairings are the accompaniments beyond the standard cheese-board lineup of crackers, fruit jam, honey, and nuts. The most popular adventurous categories include truffle honey, which adds an earthy depth that ordinary honey cannot match; chili spreads and pepper jellies, which use heat to cut the fat of an aged cheese; Italian mostarda, the candied-fruit and mustard-oil condiment that has been paired with aged cheese in northern Italy for centuries; and raw honeycomb, which serves as both a tabletop centerpiece and a slow-melting honey source. Less common pairings include savory onion jams on aged cheddar, balsamic vinegar reductions on Parmigiano, and chocolate with blue cheese. The principle behind all of them is contrast: a cheese board reads better when each bite shifts the balance of sweet, salt, fat, and heat.
Mostarda is a northern Italian condiment of candied fruit preserved with mustard oil or mustard seeds, giving it a distinctive sharp note that catches you a moment after the fruit's sweetness lands. It originated in Lombardy and the regions around Cremona and Mantova in medieval times, when it was a way to preserve summer fruit through the winter. Traditional versions use quince, pear, or cherries, sometimes a mix of several fruits. Mostarda is the classic Italian accompaniment to bollito misto, a regional boiled-meat dish, but the modern role is on the cheese board. It pairs with aged Parmigiano, Grana Padano, and aged Pecorino, where the salt of the cheese plays against the sweet-sharp fruit. Blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Cabrales, and Roquefort are also natural matches. Sharp aged cheddar and aged Manchego work well too.
A full cheese board has more than just cheese and crackers, and the additions are what turn a plate into a meal. Fresh and dried fruit are the most common: figs, grapes, pears, dried apricots, dried cherries. Cured meat — prosciutto, salami, speck, jamon — covers the savory side. Nuts add texture, especially Marcona almonds, candied walnuts, and pistachios. Sweet condiments like honey, fruit jam, fig spread, and quince paste pair with most cheeses, and savory ones like olives, cornichons, grain mustard, and onion jam balance the sweetness. For more adventurous pairings, truffle honey, Italian mostarda, chili spreads, pepper jellies, and raw honeycomb each bring a different angle. The principle is contrast: a cheese board reads better when each bite shifts between sweet, salty, sharp, and rich.