Any visit to Paris brims with the possibility of delicious bites but, on a recent visit, I learned a French trick that’ll forever change my cheese boards. When Pierre Brisson, owner of Parisian specialty cheese shop and school Paroles de Fromagers, suggested I top a bit of baguette with homemade semi-salted butter and blue cheese, I did a double take. But it made for a mind-bending combination that I vowed to incorporate into my boards from here on out.

To learn more about why cheese and butter pair so well together, and how to combine the two at home, I spoke to Brisson and Stevie Lee Webb, co-founder and head cheese monger of The Cheese Shop in Carrboro, NC. Here, they break down why the combination makes sense and share their favorite cheese and butter pairings.

Why (Some) French People Eat Butter with Cheese

While not everyone in France serves cheese with butter, the practice thrives in areas with longstanding butter-making traditions, including Normandy, Brittany, Charente Poitou and Bresse. “Putting butter on bread is definitely something everyone would do for breakfast, but not all with cheese,” Brisson says. “In regions where the production was more a business than just a family production for self-consumption, people would put butter everywhere.” He only learned of the practice as a student, when he met someone from Normandy who combined bread, butter and cheese with delicious results.

Why Butter and Cheese Work Together

It comes down to how cheese and butter are made. “When you break it down, most cheese is made of skim milk,” Webb says. The practice dates to historical eras when cheese was a protein source for many European communities. “In winter months, cheesemakers would skim off the cream on top, which could be turned into butter, a higher value product. Skimmed milk was turned into cheese for sale throughout the year or cheese you kept for home as well.”

Webb believes that one reason why people really enjoy triple-cream cheeses such as Brie or Camembert is because they are cheeses that are made with the cream added back in. “Triple creams are over 70% butterfat—that’s why we love that creamy feeling in the mouth,” he says. “The fat coats the mouth and that gives space for more and more of those flavors to come out. It amplifies those flavors and rounds them out.”

Since cream is what’s used to make butter, it makes sense that butter would naturally complement cheese. “More than anything, it’s quality on quality,” Webb says. “When you break it down, most cheese is made of skim milk. If anything, it’s almost putting the pieces back together.”

How to Pair Cheese and Butter

There are three broad types of butter that the pros recommend for your cheese board: salted butter (sel), which contains 3% salt; semi-salted (demi-sel), between .5 and 3% salt; and unsalted (doux), or no added salt. Look for French brands such as Isigny Ste Mere and Echiré, or American brands like Banner Butter or Ploughgate Creamery.

Cheese and butter pairings that Webb recommends include:

Camembert from Normandy + salted butter

Fourme d’Ambert (or a similar French blue cheese) + salted butter

Comté (aged 9 to 12 months) + semi-salted butter

Beaufort or Abondance (or another hard Alpine cheese) + semi-salted butter

Ossau-Iraty + unsalted butter

Goat milk Cheddar or Gouda + unsalted butter

Gruyere + compound butter with roasted garlic or fine herbs. Or, make a cheese compound butter by mixing in finely grated Gruyere.

No matter which combination you prefer, start with quality ingredients. If your supermarket has a cheese counter, or if you live near a specialty store with top-tier cheese selection, make friends with the cheesemonger for recommendations, samples and more. “Even if they already have cheese cut up, ask for the cheese you’d want cut fresh,” Webb says. “Then, whatever it is will be of higher quality.”

Cheese and Butter Board Accompaniments

For your cheese and butter board, consider adding a mix of sweet, savory and pickled components as well as cooked and composed items. To learn more about how to make sorts of boards for entertaining, check out our story, The Essential Guide to Building a Charcuterie Board.

Items that will complement your cheese and butter board include:

Baguette: sliced thin

Crackers: light yet structured, in neutral flavor profiles like sea salt (avoid crackers that have strong herbs or multiple flavors in one cracker)

Fruit paste (pate de fruit): Quince or guava

Jam: Fig or apricot

Compotes: Blueberry, raspberry mostarda or other tangy-sweet flavor profiles

Fresh fruit: Apples, pears, grapes that aren’t too acidic and persimmons

Dried fruit: Figs, cranberries, apricots and persimmons

Vegetables: Radishes

Pickles: Balsamic pickled onions or cornichons, which also make a great palate cleanser

Olives: Buttery varieties like Lucques or Castelvetrano (the sweeter the olive, the better it will pair with butter)

Nuts: Marcona almonds, roasted pistachios, walnuts or pecans

Mushrooms sauteed in butter, then stuffed in a triple-cream cheese

Ham and butter finger sandwiches

Wines to Serve with Cheese and Butter Boards

In France, people traditionally serve cheeses with red wine. Brisson’s ultimate pairing includes baguette with beurre demi-sel d’Isigny AOP and Camembert from Normandy washed down with a fruity, crisp Pinot Noir from Burgundy, such as a Mercurey.

You'll see cheese boards accompanied by all types of wines in the U.S., however. Webb, for instance, can’t get enough of Comté and salted butter paired with a well-chilled, buttery Chardonnay. “Cold Chardonnay was a revelation,” he says.

Cheese and Butter Board Tips

These are some of Webb’s top tips for making a great cheese board at home.

Keep it fresh: Rub apples and pear slices with lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

Choose herbs carefully: Strong, oily herbs like thyme or rosemary will adversely affect the flavor of most cheeses.

Everything on the board must be edible and make sense: Don’t add something just to make it pretty or add something random from the cupboard to fill the space, such as chocolate-covered pretzels. Instead, think about the board as you would a meal, with every component working together.

Make it festive: Look for colors in the cheeses and complement them with accoutrements. Visiting your local farmers’ market to see what’s in season can serve as a good guide. Remember, though, that it should all be edible, so holly sprigs or mini pumpkins aren’t ideal.

The last word: If it tastes good to you, it’s a perfect pairing.