Buzz
Do you want perfectly sliced cheese? Cutting cheese properly might sound tricky, especially with so many varieties available, but it’s not as hard as you might imagine. Whether you’re preparing a charcuterie board for an appetizer or making a grilled cheese sandwich, we’ve gathered all the tips and advice you need. Keep reading to learn how to cut cheese for any occasion.
Steps
Wedge-shaped Cheese
Slice hard or semi-hard wedge-shaped cheese horizontally into thin pieces. Place the wedge on its side. Start from the tip of the wedge and cut horizontally, with each slice about 0.6 cm to 2 cm thick.
- If the cheese wedge is wide, you can cut it in half first to create shorter slices.
- Try using a cheese plane for clean cuts, as this tool is specifically designed for cutting cheese.
- This cutting method works well for cheddar, asiago, goya, and romano cheeses.
Cut crumbly wedge-shaped cheese diagonally for rustic slices. Place the cheese wedge on its side with the tip facing you. Position the knife tip at the top of the cheese. Angle the blade at 45 degrees to make diagonal cuts. Keep the blade centered and slice through, with each piece about 0.6 cm to 1.7 cm thick.
- Use a flat cheese knife for clean cuts on crumbly cheeses.
- This method works well for bleu, feta, and asiago cheeses.
Slice soft-ripened wedge-shaped cheese diagonally. Press the knife into the cheese at the top corner, from the top edge to the side. Continue slicing toward the tip of the wedge.
- This technique is ideal for chilled soft-ripened cheeses like brie and camembert.
Wheel or Round-shaped Cheese
Cut soft, medium, and hard wheel-shaped cheeses into wedges about 2.5 cm to 5 cm thick. You can easily slice a wheel of cheese into smaller, pie-like wedges for serving. Use a sharp knife to cut into the cheese, starting at the center of the wheel. Move the blade about 2.5 cm to 5 cm and slice downward. Repeat around the wheel or cut only a few slices for plating.
- Use a thin blade or a soft cheese knife to prevent large pieces from sticking to the knife.
- This method suits all round cheeses, but softer varieties should be chilled for clean cuts.
Arrange round cheeses as sliced wedges. For a cheese platter or charcuterie board, you can cut round cheeses into pie-like wedges. First, halve the cheese wheel, then cut into quarters. Slice each quarter evenly, starting from the tip to create smaller wedges.
- Always keep the knife tip centered in the cheese.
- For smaller wheels, simply halve and then slice into wedges for serving.
- Adjust wedge sizes as desired, but a standard serving size is about 30 g.
- This method works well for brie, belstone, and pecorino cheeses.
Slice tall, hard round cheese blocks into 0.6 cm thick pieces. First, cut the cheese block into wedges—halve it, then quarter it, and finally slice it into pie-like segments. Next, lay the wedges on their sides with the rind facing you. Slice vertically from the tip to the rind.
- Consider halving the slices if they are still too large or the cheese block is too tall.
- If your cheese block has a rind on top, trim it off before cutting into smaller pieces.
- Use a long, wide-bladed knife, such as a chef’s knife, for hard cheeses, as it provides enough width to cut through the block.
- This method works well for parmigiano, Emmental, and gruyere cheeses.
Block-shaped Cheese
Cut semi-hard block cheeses into triangles. Halve the cheese block to create two rectangular halves. Next, slice each half into 0.3 cm thick rectangular pieces with vertical cuts, then slice diagonally from corner to corner to form triangles.
- This technique is ideal for cheddar, monterey jack, and gouda cheeses.
Use a cheese wire to slice hard or semi-hard cheeses into thin pieces. Place the cheese block on its side, holding it steady with one hand. Position the cheese wire above the edge of the block and press down gently, allowing the wire to cut through until it reaches the bottom.
- Some cheese slicers come with adjustable settings to control slice thickness.
- You can also use a sharp knife for thicker slices using this method.
- This approach works well for cheddar, swiss, and gouda cheeses.
Use a cheese plane to cut large cheese blocks into thin slices. A cheese plane is essentially a handheld cheese scraper that creates paper-thin slices perfect for pairing with crackers, small breads, or sandwiches. Place the cheese block on its short edge and position the plane on the flat surface above. Pull the plane across the cheese slowly and firmly.
- Place the cheese block on its long edge for longer slices.
- This method is suitable for cheddar, swiss, and Emmental cheeses.
Log-shaped Cheese
Slice log-shaped cheese into rounds about 0.3 cm to 0.6 cm thick. Press the knife into the cheese with moderate force, starting about 0.3 cm to 0.6 cm from the end. Lift the knife and repeat until you’ve cut the desired amount.
- Use a chef’s knife or cheese wire to cut log-shaped cheeses.
- You can adjust the thickness or size of the slices to suit your needs.
- This method works well for soft cheeses like fresh cheese, fermented goat cheese, and mozzarella.
