Fruit, nuts, honey and jam

Chapter 4 of 51 min readUpdated October 2026

Key takeaways

Sweet partners balance salty cheeses; crunchy ones add contrast.
Fruit, nuts and a little honey or jam cover most cheeses.
Blue cheese likes honey, figs and walnuts; cheddar likes apple and mustard.

Fruit

Fresh fruit like grapes, pears and apples add freshness and a little acidity, which is welcome next to rich cheese. Apples and cheddar are an easy match. Dried fruit, such as figs, adds a concentrated sweetness.

Honey and jam

A spoonful of honey or fig jam is the classic sweet partner for salty cheeses. Blue cheese with honey is the best known combination, and a soft, creamy cheese does well with fruit and honey too.

Nuts

Nuts add crunch and a little bitterness. Walnuts go with blue cheese, and almonds and pecans are easy additions to almost any plate.

Build in one of each

A simple rule for a board is something sweet, something salty and something crunchy. Fruit and jam cover the sweet, nuts cover the crunch, and the cheese itself brings the salt.

The plate at a glance

Here are all four parts of the plate together, with what goes with particular cheeses. Tap the chart to see it full size.

Chart of what goes on the plate with cheese, in four groups. Something sweet: apple or pear, grapes, honey, jam or fig spread. Blue cheese goes with honey and figs, soft creamy cheese with fruit and honey, cheddar with apple. Something crunchy: walnuts, almonds, pecans. Blue goes with walnuts, and most boards can take almonds and pecans. Something salty: cured meats, olives, pickles, mustard. Cheddar goes with mustard, blue with cured meats and olives. Something to spread it on: thin baguette, plain crackers, crusty bread. Blue goes with whole grain or crusty bread, and most cheeses with thin bread or plain crackers.