Cheese & Charcuterie

Cheese and Charcuterie

Hosting a charcuterie board night but have no idea where to start? Whether you're overwhelmed by the amount of cheese types you could add or feel like you don't have the right supplies to get started, it can feel like a daunting endeavor. We're here to help - with everything from selecting what ingredients to use and helping you find all the tools you need!

Charcuterie Boards: The Basics

What is charcuterie? What does it mean and where did the concept of charcuterie boards come from? The word "charcuterie" is a combination of the French words "char" and "cuite," meaning "cooked flesh" or "cooked meat." It became slightly broader thereafter, referring to meat and butcher shops - but that's still quite a ways off from what we know as charcuterie now!

Charcuterie boards are known for being high-end, hospitable snack boards, often used as hors d'oeuvres or appetizers before supper, as mid-day munchables, or as a light meal after a holiday lunch for example. Usually served on lovely wooden cutting boards or serving boards, charcuterie boards are typically made with a generous variety of favorite cheeses (including hard cheeses, soft cheeses, and spreadable cheeses) and cured meats that are supplemented with other delicious snack foods like crackers (or toasted bread), fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, dark chocolates, nuts, jams, and sauces. A good charcuterie board contains multiple options from most of the food groups, including protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and produce, in addition to palate cleansers like chocolates, mints, and other sweets.

Charcuterie boards and cheese boards are perfect for all kinds of hosting occasions, including holidays with family, dinner parties, baby showers and bridal showers, pool parties, girls' nights, and even simply at-home snacking. Often served with wine or sparkling beverages on the side, these mouthwatering masterpieces are beautiful to the eye and even better to the tongue!

These Cheese and Charcuterie Tools Are Pretty Cool...

Doing any task well is difficult without the right tools - but thankfully, we've got lots of charcuterie essentials to get you started.

Charcuterie Boards

Every charcuterie sampler or cheese board needs a great base - and boy, do we have a few good ones! Most people choose to use wooden serving boards because of their visual simplicity and tastefulness. The Big Easy Chopping Block is technically a cutting board, but could easily be transformed into a sophisticated serving platform for the best cheeses and various meats. Likewise, the Malibu Groove Carving Board provides lots of space for serving meats, cheeses, produce, and crackers to a crowd.

Looking for something slightly more upscale? Try Totally Bamboo's Michigan State Board that will subtly, yet gracefully portray your heritage while serving up delightful delicacies. Or, try the Acacia Wood Tapas cheese board, a long and slim piece of wood that will make any snack time feel elegant.

Charcuterie Prep Tools

Once you've picked out a serving board or two, there's a few kitchen utensils that make charcuterie prep a bit easier as well. When it comes to cutting your cheeses, there's no right or wrong way - but there are a lot of tools to do it. Whether you choose a Cheese Knife, Handheld Cheese Slicer, or Tabletop Marble Cheese Slicer, you won't be limited by options. And that's only for slicing hard cheeses! The Tomato and Soft Cheese Slicer is perfect for soft cheeses like fresh mozzarella (which is perfect when sliced fresh and paired with thinly sliced tomato and a pinch of sea salt, by the way). Plus, if you're looking for an easy way to shave cheese, there's lots of graters that will do the trick, like this Slim Cheese Grater and the Smooth Glide Dual Grater. And if you need a way to identify one cheese from the other, well... this Cheese Marker Set will come in clutch!

You may not think of food storage as being a kitchen tool or utensil - but it really does change everything about building charcuterie boards (and really, all of hosting in general). After all, old Tupperware containers start to wear out after a bit and retain subtle odors that can impact the taste of the food stored in them. What about grabbing some fresh food keepers while you're thinking of it? The Deli ProKeeper+ and Mini Deli ProKeeper+ are great to get started with for storing various meats, cheeses, and other deli foods like olives or pickles. Plus, there's many more amazing food storage containers in the ProKeeper collection that will be trustworthy for other charcuterie foods too - like the Berry ProKeeper, Produce ProKeeper, and the Split Deli ProKeeper.

Charcuterie Serving Utensils

Finally, hospitably serving charcuterie also includes providing the right serving tools for your guests - after all, no one wants to eat an olive that multiple fingers have previously touched on accident. Mini Tongs are perfect for grabbing grapes, nuts, Kalamata olives, and dried fruits like dried apricots or apples. These Bamboo Tongs are great for larger foods like slices of pear, crackers, red pepper, and rolls of prosciutto wrapped mozzarella. A pair of Straining Tongs would be advantageous for handling juicy foods like olives, pickles, and feta cheeses that have been soaked in brine.

More traditional utensils (like spoons, knives, and forks) also come in handy for serving charcuterie, especially in compact versions that won't take away space or attention from the food on the board. These Salt and Condiment Spoons are a perfect example - they're perfect for nuts, seasonings, and even toppings like fig jam. Or, these Bamboo Serving Spoons provide another rustic touch in case you're wanting to match color schemes with your charcuterie board.

Norpro's Stainless Steel Spreader knife is an essential for serving semi soft cheeses like blue cheese, cream cheese or various goat cheeses, in addition to other spreads like honey, mustard, jams, jellies, dips, nut butters, and more. Don't forget a fork either - this Charcuterie and Appetizer Fork makes it easy to grab slices of cheddar cheese and aged gouda, fresh fruits like berries and grapes, sliced fresh meats, and small seafoods. Finally, you can't forget all of those cheese tools for both firm cheeses and soft cheeses. This 4 Piece Cheese Tool Set includes several cheese knives, including one flat cheese knife for slicing aged cheeses and a plane cheese knife for chipping away at blocks of your favorite cheeses. It also includes a cheese fork for plating and serving, as well as a spade to break off chunks of hard cheeses. The handles of the cheese knives and tools in the set are made of bamboo that will pair well aesthetically with any choice of charcuterie board.

Cheeses, Meats, and Sweets, Oh My

Knowing where to start with choosing the foods for you charcuterie boards can feel challenging... there are a host of meats and cheeses to select from, many of which you may not even feel familiar with (hello, we're talking to you manchego, gorgonzola, and gruyere). It can be hard to recall the tastes of even the more well-known specialty cheeses too, like Havarti, camembert, and brie... and forget about deciding between young gouda and aged gouda! Only the cheese connoisseurs could do that anyway.

The key to choosing charcuterie cheeses is to focus on balancing flavor profiles and providing a variety of selection, including hard cheeses, soft cheeses, and spreadable cheeses. Often, hosts tend to select equal amounts of cheeses from each category, intentionally picking some that are full-flavored, with others that are lighter or creamier to provide balance. It's even helpful to consider the type of flavor each cheese has - for example, choosing a sharp cheddar cheese and a parmesan cheese could balance well since the flavor profiles are quite different. Another factor is to consider the type of milk each cheese is made from - whether cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk was used can make a huge difference in flavor.

Meats are equally as important to a charcuterie board as cheeses. After all, who eats slices of one without the other? Most meats are more than acceptable for charcuterie boards, although beef-based meats and ground meats are unusual. However, cured meats like prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, chorizo, pancetta, and speck provide both protein and fat to the board that balance out fresher components like produce. Once again, charcuterie meats are usually selected based on the variety of flavors present in them, as well as richness.

Other components of charcuterie include bread and crackers, which allow the palate a break from the richness, salts, and fats in the meats and cheeses. Nuts such as Marcona almonds, pistachios, and cashews work well in addition to starches. Sweeter foods can also help - adding some dates, figs, jams, jellies, and dark chocolate slices are a good start. Fresh fruits like pears, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes and sliced apples, as well as dried fruits like raisins, dried apricots, and dried cherries will do the trick here. A drizzle of honey over the entire board (or a honey pot with a dipper for individual servings) never hurts either!

Prepare and Assemble

You've made it - well, almost! Choosing your supplies and ingredients is the hard part in our opinion, but if you're most intimidated by assembling it all, rest assured that it's easier than it looks. Putting together a charcuterie board simply involves following a couple easy steps in order to make it look its best. While these steps can be swapped around a bit, we've chosen to share the common order in which they're often followed.

Placing your thinly sliced cheeses on your charcuterie board is overwhelmingly recommended as the first step in building it. Keeping space in between the cheeses is key since you still have plenty of other foods to organize on it too. We think that assembling the boards are the fun part, since you can experiment with all kinds of designs and shapes - layering the cheese slices in long rows is a quick, yet aesthetic method, while doing something similar in semicircles or bordering the board could also work well. If you have a longer or larger board, or if people will be sitting around different sides of the board, it may be hospitable to spread out the cheese slices to multiple sections so that everyone is within reach of each kind. The spreadable, crumbled and shaved, and soft cheeses can be added later.

Organizing the meats comes next. Similarly, there's lots of ways to do so - we highly recommend looking up some inspiration images if you feel stuck. Generally, the same rules mentioned for the cheeses apply for assembling the meats as well. Following the pattern you established with the sliced cheeses never fails... but if you're more of an artiste, consider switching it up and experimenting with other shapes for your meats to go in. Once again, remember to leave lots of room for starchy foods and fillers that will be added later.

Bread and crackers follow the meat. Some charcuterie experts recommend placing these starches in between rows of cheese and meat, leaving small, even gaps between the rows to fill with berries, olives, and nuts. If you choose to use bread, then it's probably a good idea to slice it in small pieces that won't take up so much room. You may even consider toasting the bread slices to provide some extra crunch, to contrast with the softer foods. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is making every element of the board accessible for all who will be enjoying it!

Now, it's time to fill in the gaps. Add nuts, olives, dried fruits, chocolates, and crumbled and shaved cheeses to start. Capers, berries, banana peppers and jalapenos can also fill up space while contributing lots of flavor and color to the board. Don't forget to include fruits and vegetables as well - produce like carrot sticks, celery, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, grapes, pears, apples, and oranges will add texture and freshness that will be a welcome break for the palate. Leave space for small bowls to hold jams, cream cheese, mustard, dressings, and dips that will give the board even more flavor. Sprinkle some seasoning salts over the top if you wish, like these flavored salts. Finally, it never hurts to drizzle your favorite cheeses and meats with a luscious honey or set some on the side for dipping as well - here's a few of our favorites!

All You Have To Do Is Start To Get Better At This Art!

Making charcuterie boards simply takes practice - but the more you do it, the better you'll get and the more fun it will be. To check out our entire collection of charcuterie board essentials and cheese tools, click here.