Leerdammer and black coffee

Cheese is so inextricably linked in my mind with beer and wine I sometimes forget there are other delicious pairings out there but coffee? Well, actually yes.

The idea first clicked 18 months or so ago on a trip to Sweden. We visited a cheesemaker who served us black coffee with her cheeses and it set them off beautifully. I shouldn’t have been surprised because of course the standard breakfast throughout northern Europe includes cheese and cold meats.

As I’ve been researching coffee for a feature I’m writing I had to borrow a neighbour’s coffee grinder so we had an impromptu Dutch-style breakfast while we were comparing beans. The cheese we bought was Leerdammer but you could use any mild, smooth sliceable nutty cheese. Some very good smoked ham and crispbread completed the feast.

We drank our coffee black and without sugar which wouldn't be to everyone's taste but I think works better than, say, a flat white or a cappucino would. It's the savoury bitterness of the coffee that goes so well with the smooth mild nutty cheese.

It put me in mind of a cheese I tasted in the states a few years ago called Barely Buzzed which is rubbed with ground coffee and lavender (much nicer than it sounds!) There are some more great ideas for coffee and cheese pairings in this feature on the Culture cheese magazine website

For more creative cheese pairings download my ebook 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese & Wine (and other delicious drinks!)

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