Displaying food in an array of complimentary pairings and aesthetically pleasing arrangements is the epidemy of the charcuterie board. Nothing else is really more inviting in the realm of snacking as this display of snacks!
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I love food, in fact it is my love language! Well, ok, that’s not a love language, but if it were – that would be mine!
I thoroughly enjoy creating meals for my family and dear friends when they come over. I enjoy the tweaking, fine tuning, and assembling of the food into eye pleasing presentations, but even more so when they enjoy each delicious bite.
Needless to say, when my best friend was pregnant with her first boy, I jumped at the opportunity to create a beautiful charcuterie board for her baby shower. I was so excited for the challenge of this displaying food in art form, and what better way to show my friend some love!
Read our personal story about how we reversed tooth decay!
What should be on a charcuterie board?
Don’t over think this part. This is really based off what you like to eat and then pairing it with delicious complimentary foods to create a great flavor.
Get your list for the store.
Get organized so that you are not buying random stuff. Have a plan so you don’t over spend and get things you won’t use.
1. Cheese: Select two different types
-Soft cheese (like brie or goat cheese)
-Hard cheese (like cheddar or havarti): Cut the hard cheese into cubes. This makes it easier to assemble.
2. Meat: Select two different types
-Prosciutto: I will roll this and stack up on the board.
-Salami: I will also roll this and lay stacked, but more commonly I turn these into roses. Using a glass with a smaller rim I fold the salami in half over the edge of the cup. Half is on the inside and half on the outside hanging over the rim. I continue this around the cup until I have gone around the rim two times. Then pinching where the meat is folded in half to create a crease. Next flip your cup upside down and slide the glass up and there is your beautiful meat rose!
-Summer sausage: I like to cut this in to quarters.
3. Fruit: Select 2-3 different types.
Anything goes here, really anything that will pair with the cheese nicely! Also, don’t forget a jam or jelly to go on top of your soft cheese if it would pair nicely!
-Apples: sliced
-Grapes: whole
-Oranges: minis like the cuties
-Strawberries: whole
-Dates: whole
4. Grains: Select two
-Crackers
-Bread
5. Dessert: Select one.
This is optional. If you’re creating a board for an event where there will be a lot of other treats, you may want to omit this one. Otherwise, my favorite dessert to add to boards are chocolate truffles! You just want to pick something small for this category.
-Truffles
-Mini cookies
-Macrons
6 Herbs: Select Fresh and select one
This is mostly for aesthetics. But a sprig of rosemary or some basil leaves add beautiful color and some people may eat them, I know I would!
-Rosemary Sprig
-Basil Leaves
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Steps to easily assemble a charcuterie board
prep time: 20 MINUTES
assembly time: 10 MINUTES
clean up time: 5 MINUTES
Time needed: 35 minutes
Assembly
Finally, after the chopping and cutting is finished we can now build our boards! This is the most fun!
- Use your cheese as a foundation to build on
To begin with, place your soft cheese in the middle of the board and anchor your hard cubed cheese on the ends.
- Roll in the meat rolls
Afterwards, place your meat in between your cheese from end to end – as if it’s a river flowing around and in between your cheeses!
- Place your fruit
Thirdly, distribute your fruit around the meat and cheese to add pops of color.
- Pools of grains
Then place your crackers and bread in little pools around the outer edge of the board. Creating a frame around the food on the board as I have shown below.
- Fill in with the dessert
Then fill any empty spaces in the frame of the board with your desserts.
- Garnish with herbs
Lastly, place herbs thoughtfully where it would add beautiful decoration to enhance your board.
Notes
This is such a fun way to display food and everything is customizable.
Also, if you have items that roll, like olives, consider containing them in a bowl. This would add a nice depth to the board, all while keeping your grains from getting soggy from the liquid they may contain.
Lastly, there really aren’t any rules to this, so don’t put yourself in a box! Have fun with the foods you enjoy! Get your kids involved. My 7 year old daughter loves to help me make the salami roses!
In the end, your guests or loved ones will enjoy conversing while they fill their tummies over the snack board you made them with love!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
What are your favorite foods to eat from a charcuterie board? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more snack and appetizers? Check out these great options below!
Would you like some weekly meal planning inspiration? To see how I plan meals behind the scenes for my family of six, read my family dinner meal planning guide!
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