Cheese is usually served as a part of the dessert, or it may be placed before the dessert with the salad, when the salad does not accompany the game or roast. A bit of brown bread or a hard cracker with butter are passed at the same time. The French custom of omitting the sweets and ending the meal with salad and cheese has obtained to considerable extent in this country. In accord with this is the custom of passing, in place of a sweet, Camembert or Neufchatel cheese either whole with a cheese knife, or cut in small cubes and disposed upon a handled cheese plate, covered with lace paper and accompanied by a cheese fork, and a tiny jar of bar-le-duc (a currant preserve made in such a manner that the seeded currants retain their shape). Lemon cheese-cakes are often substituted for the raw cheese.

Small cheese, like Edam and pineapple, are prepared for serving by sawing off the top or cutting with a "butter tester" which leaves a scalloped edge. The cheese is then set in a silver cheese holder, or wrapped in a folded napkin, on a plate. A cheese scoop is needed for the service. For occasional service, pieces may be scooped out from a fresh cheese and piled on a plate covered with lace paper. A Stilton or Chester cheese, cut in halves, is served surrounded by a folded napkin. Young America and pineapple are identical in manufacture, but differ in shape. American dairy cheese is usually cut in small uniform pieces and served upon a lace-paper-covered plate. Celery is a favorite accompaniment of cheese when a salad is wanting.