{"id":5834,"date":"2026-02-19T03:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/why-butter-belongs-on-your-cheese-board\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T03:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:02:19","slug":"why-butter-belongs-on-your-cheese-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/why-butter-belongs-on-your-cheese-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Butter Belongs on Your Cheese Board"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Butter incorporated into a cheese board. Photo credit Pamela Vachon<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Butter had a big moment during the butter board craze of 2022, when it became the star of its own grazing board show. Aided and abetted by TikTok, butter was swooshed across serving boards and platters, decked with various accompaniments, and transformed into a snack in its own right, elevated beyond the rank of mere condiment.<\/p>\n

For some veterans in the food industry, this newfangled trend was met with a level of doubt. Anna Stockwell, a recipe developer, culinary consultant, and author of the forthcoming cookbook The Butter Book<\/em>, <\/a>was a prime example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was skeptical of the whole butter board thing when it first came out,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when I started working on the book, I knew that I\u2019d have to make a butter board, and it\u2019s actually really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Case for the Butter Board<\/h2>\n
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Emilio Mignucci of specialty food retailer Di Bruno Bros. Photo credit Di Bruno Bros.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is a universally acknowledged truth that butter makes everything better \u2013 and this also applies to occasions that typically call for cheese.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our world of specialty food, butter is treated like cheese, as a high quality product,\u201d says Emilio Mignucci, Vice President of Di Bruno Bros<\/a>.<\/span><\/a>, a family-owned specialty food retailer and importer. \u201cI don’t think there’s any bad way to use butter, quite honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stockwell found creating a butter board so enjoyable that it became inspiration for adding a butter component to other boards and platters like cheese and charcuterie boards. Then there\u2019s another selling point that\u2019s particularly relevant in today\u2019s environment.\u00a0 \u201cIt’s also usually cheaper than cheese,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

With insight from these butter experts, here\u2019s everything you need to know about giving butter a star churn on your next cheese board.<\/p>\n

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How to Add Butter to Your Cheese Board<\/h2>\n
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Anna Stockwell\u2019s The Butter Book<\/em> includes instructions for a butter board. Photo credit Chronicle Books<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The butter board making process begins with curated offerings. We\u2019re not talking about unwrapping a quarter-pound stick of conventional butter and setting it on your board. Look for high-quality selections, with the nuances of craft and terroir that butter is capable of expressing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever you live, check what is available at the local specialty food or cheese shop,\u201d says Stockwell. Despite the calming of the butter board craze, she thinks that now is still a golden age for butter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is this trend of hyperlocal cultured butters emerging,\u201d she adds, pointing out that these would be ideal for adding butter intrigue to a cheese board.<\/p>\n

If possible, select a range of butters that vary from delicate to bold.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh quality butters have unique flavors,\u201d says Mignucci, who also suggests that you can even put more than one butter alongside your array of cheeses. \u201cButter can certainly be represented with two or three types,\u201d he says. \u201cJust like you would create your cheese board with mild to stronger flavors, I would do the same with butter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butter can also be presented or arranged just as you would cheese: molded, spread, served in a crock, or as Stockwell suggests, serving butter in a big mound on a board. \u201cI call it a butter mountain,\u201d she says. (It\u2019s ideal geography to complement cheese influencer Marissa Mullen\u2019s \u201csalami river.<\/a>\u201d)<\/p>\n

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Cultured, Flavored, and Compound Butters<\/h2>\n
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Cookbook author Anna Stockwell. Photo credit Chronicle Books<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Between its butterfat content, salt component, terroir, and seasonality, classic butters can already express an array of flavors, but products and creations such as cultured, flavored, and compound butters are also ideal candidates for cheese board selection.<\/p>\n

Unlike today\u2019s conventional butters, cultured butters are those that are made from milk that has had cultures introduced to spark fermentation before churning.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditionally, all butter was cultured butter because of the process of making butter at home,\u201d says Stockwell, explaining that cream typically sat out until enough was collected to churn. \u201cThe ambient bacteria would ferment the cream and give it that sour taste or tang. Basically, cultured butter tastes more like cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stockwell also highlighted flavored butters as selections that showcase butter in an interesting way on a cheese board. Flavored cheese has been gaining traction, as evidenced by the winning cheeses over the past few years at the American Cheese Society<\/a> judging and competition, and butter is also in this wheelhouse. Normandy butter brand Maison Bordier<\/a>, for example, has a variety of flavors including offerings enhanced with yuzu, buckwheat, and locally harvested seaweed, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could put out a board with a couple different flavors and colors of compound butter,\u201d she says. Homemade compound butters \u2013 where butter is mixed with add-ins \u2013 can allow one to express culinary creativity on a cheese board as well as add an aesthetic element. There\u2019s no limit to what can go in a compound butter. From alliums, herbs, and edible flowers to pickles and tinned fish, if it tastes good with butter, then it can become one with butter.<\/p>\n

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Butter Accompaniments<\/h2>\n

Radishes, especially French breakfast radishes and watermelon radishes, usually get top billing when it comes to butter accompaniments, but there are innumerable other components that can make butter shine on a cheese board. As a jumping-off point, consider those items that would generally join up with butter on a sandwich or toast.<\/p>\n

\u201cJams, jellies, and conserves go well with butter, and could be interesting to add along with cheese,\u201d says Mignucci. Jambon beurre, a classic French sandwich, can be deconstructed on a cheese board with baguette, Bayonne ham, and cornichons. For an English-inflected board spread, consider the tea sandwich of butter and cucumber for inspiration.<\/p>\n

When butter is on the cheese board, it\u2019s also an opportunity to include a variety of salts for flavor experimentation. \u201cWhen you take butter and add black Hawaiian sea salt, or French gray salt, or smoked salt, you can really alter the flavor and add different nuances,\u201d Mignucci says.<\/p>\n

The variation options are endless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been craving potato chips with butter,\u201d says Stockwell, explaining that it makes for a particularly decadent treat.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, for the opposite approach, she also suggests an assortment of olives or pickles to get some relief from butter\u2019s richness.<\/p>\n

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High Quality Butter Brands That Experts Recommend<\/h2>\n

Look to your specialty shops and local cheesemakers or cheese retailers for local butter worth showcasing, but Stockwell and Mignucci also highlighted several butter brands \u2013 both French and American \u2013 that may be more widely available and ready to join cheese on your next cheese board occasion:<\/p>\n