Pairing Cheese and Fruit Jam for the Perfect Cheese Platter

What's better than a good cheese and fruit tray? "Don't let the farmer not know how good the cheese with pears is" says an old Italian adage. As a matter of fact, the pairing of cheese with fruit is absolutely heavenly.

However, combinations must be made with criterion. Some fruit jams combine with some cheeses more than others. The reason is purely chemical: cheeses are practically free of sugars and jams are the perfect complementary food, creating the right balance in taste.

Fruit and cheese pairing, how to choose

First of all, to choose the most appropriate combination of fruit and cheese you must consider the type of milk used: cow, goat, sheep, and then you look at the consistency of the cheese: soft, ripened, semi-hard, semi-mature...
Soft and and sweet cheese will marry bitter jams. In contrast, strong and aged cheeses will match with sweet fruit jams and compotes.
Here are the best combinations of cheese with fruit.

Pairing Cheese and Fruit

CHEESE	FRUIT JAM / COMPOTE / MUSTARD
Aged Asiago	Radish jams, green tomato or celery
Bitto	Blueberry jam
Bra	Grape mustard
Brie	Fig, apple or pear jam
Caciocavallo	Red or white onion jam, red tomato or mustard zucchini
Castelmagno	Onion chutney
Fiore Sardo	Quince and ginger jam
Goat cheese	Blackberries, blueberries, strawberry, orange, mandarin or cherries
Aged cheese	Green tomato jam and plum jam
Pasture Cheeses	Rosemary and lemon marmalade
Medium aged and blue cheeses	Pear, figs, pineapple, red onion, citrus fruit, peppers jam
Gorgonzola	Onion jam, celery, fennel, citrus marmalades
Manchego	Quince
Tuscan Marzolino	Green tomato mustard, fresh fruit (apples and pears)
Seasoned Paglierina	Grape juice, blueberry or orange jam
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano	Jams and chutney of pears, green tomatoes and fig jam
Pecorino di Fossa	Rosehips, pumpkin, figs and pine nuts or pear jam; fresh beans
Fresh Pecorino	Jam or compote of fig, peppers, green tomatoes
Pecorino di Pienza	Fig jam
Aged Pecorino	Cheese citrus marmalade, pepper mustard or jam, pear jam
Aged Piave cheese	Figs (and mortadella!)
Puzzone Moena	Blueberry jam
Ricotta	Apple, citrus, pear and cocoa, peach and cocoa, banana jam
Taleggio	Fig or pear compote
Piedmont Toma	Tangerine or orange marmalade, onion, mustard and green tomato jam