As the holidays roll around, friends and family gatherings fill up our schedules…and an abundance of mouth-watering food fill up our stomachs! Whether you’re a host or a guest, putting together snacks that will bring people together during the cozy holiday season is always a good idea! One of the best types of snacks to make would be a charcuterie cheese board! The word charcuterie actually originated from France, and it means processed or cured cold meat products such as pork, sausages, hams, etc. This Bamboo Cheese Cutting Board by World Depot Inc. is a great pick for setting up your charcuterie board on because it is also a cutting board, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your cheese boards, which are too delicate to be cut on. This saves you the hassle of having the use another board to cut with!
While you can customize your charcuterie board however you like, it typically contains cured meats, various cheeses, fruits or dried fruits, nuts and olives, crackers or small slices of bread, and jelly or jam. There are many ways to approach this, so you can make your board ultra yummy and visually elegant. First, you can start with the cheeses: think about having different textures of cheeses on the board. Pick a soft or semi-soft cheese such as brie, and a hard cheese like parmesan or cheddar. You can also mix up cheese made from different milks, such as goat or cow to add a variety of cheese flavors to your board. Then, for the cured meats, you can pick salami, prosciutto, cured ham, sausage, or pepperoni. You can even pick up cured meats that have paprika, black pepper, or garlic seasoning if you want to add a kick to the meats.
Next, it’s your choice of crackers or slices of bread, or both! Cheese and meats have a stronger taste, so pairing them with crackers or bread really help balance out the palette. Don’t forget to brighten and freshen up your charcuterie board with a variety of fruits such as grapes, berries, sliced apples, peaches, and herbs. Last but not least, adding raspberry, apricot, or grape jam will add a nice sweet texture to your board!
