It took me a good long time to even be able to say the word “charcuterie” much less ever make a board. I kept thinking of it as a “chaircut” or “sharty” board. I just couldn’t get it to stick in my brain. But it wasn’t easy justifying the fancy French name for what my brain said it really was. Charcuterie was used to describe shops in 15th century France that sold products that were made from pork. Then I decided to try and actually assemble a charcuterie board and it stuck!
Comedian John Crist http://johncristcomdedy.com has a hilarious take on what he calls “The truth about charcuterie boards.” He is trying to figure out where the charcuterie board obsession came from. He is pretty sure that if you just “go to the gas station pick up some Kraft single and a sleeve of Ritz crackers, throw them on a pizza box and everyone will love it.” He claims he took a charcuterie board to school every day……it’s called a lunchable!
I am a baby boomer, not a millennial, so I have a long memory and some water under the bridge. I have spent many years making cheese and cracker trays, relish trays, fruit trays and veggie trays. Yes…..we use to call them trays. We never really mixed them. They were their own tray. Everyone always enjoyed them. A relish tray was my go to dish when I didn’t have something to take somewhere. I always kept on hand a variety of olives, pickles (all different kinds), pickled peppers (think peperoncino) and throw on a few fresh green onions and you had a very presentable dish to show up to your party with.
Millennials have thrown out the trays and made them boards and they had the courage to mix all the tray ingredients together! It was my millennial nieces and daughters that kept working with me until I could finally say the word “charcuterie” and put together a beautiful board. I am forever grateful because I have fallen in love with charcuterie boards. They make such a beautiful presentation on any table or buffet. The various ingredients with their different colors and textures are delightful to eat and look at. There is always something for everyone on a good charcuterie board. I have enjoyed taking it one step further and using my 9ft wood table as a giant charcuterie board. When you add in different wood trays of varying heights, use some beautiful fruit and add some greenery there is nothing more beautiful and delicious!
And then just like that, dessert charcuterie boards started popping up all over Instagram and Pinterest! No pork allowed on these! Now we have taken the board to a whole different level of delish! Oh how I love dessert and this covers all the bases! You can have all different kinds of sweets in one place. The boards that are so appealing usually have a theme of a particular color or holiday to pull the look together. These are also easy go to when you need something quick. You can pick up everything you need at the grocery store and open up those bags and place the sweets in the right place and you have the board everyone wants to indulge in. There are lots of places to explore what you might like to put on yours.
Recently I got wild and put out a SWEET AND SAVORY charcuterie on my big kitchen table. The savory had all the meats, cheeses, salami roses, crackers and of course olives and nuts. The trick was to style the table in all the same color pallet of items. So for the sweets I used items such as chocolates, peanut brittle, cream puffs, mini cookies, cinnamon tortilla chips, and caramels. They were all brown based sweets. (Remember I am a brown girl!) That way the table style flowed well and you could wander around the table and have a little of each. It definitely could be one of my favorite charcuterie tables that I have styled.
If you haven’t tried to put together a board yet, jump in head first. Start with a small board and work your way up! It really is a lot of fun. They are great for all ages and fit into any social gathering. Be creative!
And just when I learned how to say “CHARCUTERIE” we started talking about GRAZING TABLES! According to eatsmartproducts.com a “grazing table” is a “tablescape filled with artfully arranged meats, cheese, crudité, as well as seasonal fruit, flowers, decorations and serving utensils and dishes. It’s a relaxed way for you and your guests to mingle without actually cooking and preparing a formal meal.” Well I’m loving that! I get to include flowers!
Maybe some day I can catch up with the trends. For now, I am happy grazing at my charcuterie table!
Thanks for stopping by Sweet Flower Home.
Blessings,
Carrie
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