Learn how to create the perfect cheese board from the best cheeses you can get at ALDI stores for the holiday season.
We review the ALDI brand Emporium Selection cheese including the popular white cranberry cheddar as well as the offerings from Carr Valley. Also give you some ideas of what crackers you can get to go with your cheese.
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ALDI is made for cheese lovers!
For a store their size, their selection of cheese is amazing with all sorts of specialty cheeses for affordable prices.
Around Christmas time it gets even better.
You have plenty of motivation to create your very own ALDI Christmas cheese platter that will have your family and friends raving and thinking you spend way more than you did. Let's show you how.
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💵 Cheese Price Guide
Let's first look at some of the cheese options that we have at ALDI. Then we will discuss how to build a delicious cheese patter for Christmas.
Below you will find a price guide to the cheese I found at ALDI during my Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 visit. These are all cheese that are considered Seasonal Favorites, so they may only be available for a limited time.
| Carr Valley Assorted (5oz) | $3.99 |
| Emporium Selection Irish Cheddar (Mild or Sharp) (7oz) | $3.79 |
| Emporium Selection Cranberry White Cheddar (8oz) | $2.49 |
| Emporium Selection Artisanal Fontina Assortment | $3.99 |
| Emporium Selection Smoked Assorted (7-8oz) | $3.89 |
| Emporium Selection Infused Cheddar Assortment | $3.89 |
| Gouda Christmas Trees | $4.49 |
| Artisan Goat Cheese Assorted | $3.99 |
📅 Changes in 2022
I think the selection was pretty much the same this year as I saw in 2021. I did see anything new really in the cheese department just the staples I have seen the last couple years.
The cheese ornaments I have not seen in the past couple years. Sorry to those that wanted a snack to hang on their tree!
Have you tried the cheese advent calendars they are suppose to have? I have never been able to find them. Always sold out.
👷 How to Built a Cheese Board
The key to make an awesome cheese board from ALDI cheese is to try and pick a variety of types of cheese. Such as picking cheese that come from different milk sources (cow, sheep, goat) can be a great way to compare and contrast.
Here are the cheese I choose for my cheese board:
A) Emporium Selection Cranberry White Cheddar | Cow's milk
B) Carr Valley Marisa Cheese | Sheep's milk
C) Carr Valley Menage Cheese | Cow's, sheep's, and goat's milk
D) Emporium Selection Irish Mild Cheddar | Cow's milk
🎄 Want some ideas for ALDI Christmas dinner as well? Learn ow to make a cheap, and tasty ham dinner with side and dessert.
Each of these cheese had significant differences in flavor and texture. That's what you want.
🧀 Cheese Reviews
The Cranberry White Cheddar was more of a sharp cheddar with a fruity flavor from the cranberries. It was very comparable to other cranberry cheddar I have tried.
Most Irish cheddar is more on the sharp side, so I was excited to find a mild version. Mild doesn't mean no flavor, it just means it doesn't have the bite that a sharper cheddar would. I thought this was a good one and would buy it again for sure.
Carr Valley Marisa was my favorite cheese on the board. It's made from sheep milk. Not too sharp for my taste, great with crackers. If you have never had a sheep's milk cheese this is a great introduction.
The Menage cheese was sharper than the Marisa but also it was a creamier cheese. Great contrasting Wisconsin cheeses. A Menage cheese is one that is made from a mixture of different types of milk (cow, sheep, and goat). Each type of milk bring something different to the finished cheese.
🔺 Choose Different Shaped Cheeses
In order to help your guests or family tell which cheese is which it's good to slice them all differently, so they have different shapes. Selecting cheeses that are different shapes to begin with can be helpful. The round white cranberry can be cut into pie like wedges. Or the square Irish cheddar can be cut into smaller squares.
I did have two cheeses that were the same shape, but one had green wax around it - the Menage It was a softer cheese too, so I cut off a bigger piece of it with the wax on. You could also cut it into bite sized pieces, but I would recommend leaving the wax on it so that it's more distinctive.
🏷️ Chalk Board Tags
My wife picked up some chalk board tags to go on the board. This is another great way to organize your board and help people identity the different cheeses. You want the to know their favorites so they can look for them themselves.
🚫 What to Avoid
Sharper cheddar can be crumbly and harder to slice. Any cheese that crumbles won't look good on a cheese board or platter. and will be messy.
Also anything that would be runny or just too soft wouldn't be good unless you put it in a separate dish on your board - which in that case is a good idea.
🌾 Crackers
If you are going to have cheese, you got to have some crackers. I found an impressive collection of Specially Selected crackers on one of the end caps in the store along with other items to built the ultimate charcuterie board.
| Scalloped Crackers (Sea Salt, Sea Salt & Pepper, Rosemary) | $1.89 |
| Wafer Crackers (Original, Cracked Pepper) | $2.49 |
| Mini Artisan Crackers (Original, Rosemary) | $3.59 |
| Cheese Crisps (Asiago & Cheddar, Melting Romano) | $3.39 |
🙋 Have you purchased any of the cheese or crackers on the list? Leave a comment below and share what you have bought and what you think of it.
Vicki
I have bought the cranberry cheddar for the past couple years, we really like it
Jeannie Rivera
Just found your website and have really been enjoying it. Thank you so much for all this information you give. I'm inspired to make a cheese board according to your recommendations from ALDI!
Eric Samuelson
Thanks Jeannie for the kind words. I would love to hear if you do make one.
Faye G Haring
I love the cranberry cheddar cheese and would buy it year round if it was available
Eric Samuelson
It's good. You have to stock up on it when it's available.
Debbie Lankford
I wish you carried the white Cheddar Cranberry all year round. Absolutely love it. went to 5 stores before I found out it was a seasonal item. Will buy as many as I can when they come back!
Eric Samuelson
I don't work for ALDI just write about their products. I see Cranberry Cheddar at other stores by again this just in the fall too.