The Best Charcuterie Board Presentations
Charcuterie board presentations are literally the best thing that ever originated from France. While these beautiful boards are not necessarily new, they have gained extensive popularity over the past couple years and for a good reason. While diving into the world of charcuterie boards can seem a little overwhelming, there are tons of tips and tricks that can help you along, starting with this article.
Charcuterie board presentations can set a tone for any activity, meal, or event. A charcuterie board placed on a table provides an area for people to gather and talk while being able to graze over varying flavors, textures, and colors that they likely haven’t seen put together before. Charcuterie board presentations can be formal or casual, themed for each season or flavor palette. All the choices are up to you as you creatively express yourself through meat, cheese, veggies, and fruit. Before you get distracted with the beauty of charcuterie, let’s get into what makes these charcuterie boards the best.
1. Diversifying your Board
While there are tons of presentations for charcuterie boards available, picking a versatile and unique board is the best way to go. For something really spectacular, contrasting colors or textures from your kitchen or serving area is a great place to start. Black charcuterie boards are a very stunning choice as they contrast almost every cheese and meat combination you could choose. Wood boards are another great option for a warmer aesthetic. Choosing a board that is unique or elevated is another spectacular choice. This diversifies your charcuterie board presentation from what others are doing. Take your time looking at multiple styles, colors, and textures of boards for one that personalizes your space and is customizable to suit your presentation needs.
2. Accessorizing your Charcuterie Board
Most people will stop at the board and start layering up with their selection of ingredients. These are the people that miss out on a world of beautiful accessories for the best charcuterie board presentations. Most cheeses are cut into squares or triangles and typically have hard edges. A beautiful contrast for this shape is circles or ovals. Adding this shape to your board aids the viewer in scanning from one end of the board to the other, allowing them to comprehend more of what they are seeing in one fluid motion. These shapes can be found in bowls, smaller platters that can be stacked on your board, or other items you find that will accessorize your charcuterie board presentation. Later, these will be filled with jams, olives, chocolates, and sauces.
In addition to adding shapes to your board, finding unique utensils, table decoration, or labels are a great way to stimulate the eye. Putting a cheesecloth underneath a charcuterie board makes an organic look. Adding non-edible dried fruit, leaves, flowers, and fabrics changes the board’s look and moves the charcuterie board presentations from simple to intricate.
3. I’m Committed; What Do I Do Now?
Charcuterie board presentations can appear so detailed, but the execution is actually quite simple. Decide beforehand what kind of board you want to create. Is it supposed to be a jaw-dropper occupying a large space with many bright colors? Or are you aiming to create a smaller board for a more intimate gathering? Consider the goal before going to the store to buy every kind of cheese with the word Wisconsin on it.
Pick some of your favorite cheeses. It is never a bad idea to have contrasting flavors on either side of the board. For example, perhaps you place a gouda and a brie on the left side and then transition to a 15-year-old aged sharp cheddar on the right. While these are widely loved cheeses, they still create a wonderful contrasting board that provides grazers with lots of texture and flavor differences. Don’t be afraid to throw in some cheeses that are more potent such as blue cheese or a less common fruit-infused cheese.
4. What Do I Put Where?
Starting to place items on your board can be a little intimidating but don’t worry; we will work through it together. Start off with those platters or bowls that will rest on top of your charcuterie board. This gives you a good idea of where not to put edible items as well as shapes to work around. If you are creating a salami river or cheese river, start off with that, as it will be the most significant portion of your board. Add other cheeses on opposite sections of the board, ensuring that there is room in-between for crackers, fruits, veggies, and other items that will go on your board. Doing this creates a contrast on the board to easily separate ingredients.
When the placement of these items looks the way you want them to, start filling in with crackers. Ensure the crackers going next to the cheeses are a flavor match. Taste trials are essential if you are trying new ingredients. Begin to fill in with fruits and veggies as well as any other prominent flavors you want on your board. Sometimes this is where things start to look overwhelming. Create space as needed or take some items off your board. You can always add more ingredients as they get picked over. The idea here is simple with unique details while not being overwhelming.
5. Final Details
Hopefully, your charcuterie board presentations are progressing the way you want it to. Adding new and diverse flavors to any board can be different and exciting. It often gives you an opportunity to provide new flavors and textures while still having something everyone will like. Changing basics to more unique options such as spicy honey, prosciutto wrapped peaches, goat cheese and berries, or gouda and dark chocolate are all excellent options to give your charcuterie board presentations an extra edge.
While these options are a great place to start, so many new and innovative ideas come with charcuterie board presentations.
