Appetizer Platter: 5 Tips For Creating A Charcuterie And Cheese Board

In restaurants or at home, the appetizer board has become an essential part of dinner parties. This option, both generous and friendly, allows for sharing a moment of indulgence with family or friends. Here are 5 tips for making a beautiful charcuterie and cheese board.

Choose a theme.

The first of the 5 tips for creating a charcuterie and cheese board is to choose a theme, in order to serve a coherent appetizer with the right quantities of each ingredient. Although a charcuterie board is by definition generous and indulgent, it should not be overloaded; otherwise, your guests will be frustrated at not being able to taste everything.

If you're unsure what to buy from the deli or cheese section, the simplest way is to choose a geographical area and serve products that come from the same region.

For more ease and coherence, you could compose an Italian or Spanish board, for example. Depending on whether you prefer rosette de Lyon or figatellu, you can create a regional appetizer board, with typical specialties from the city of Lyon, the Basque Country, or Corsica...

2- Do not skimp on quality.

In addition to the right amount, the quality of the ingredients is also important for making a charcuterie and cheese board. Rather than having a variety of cheeses and meats, it's better to focus on quality and limit yourself to three kinds of excellent cheeses and three kinds of outstanding charcuteries.

For assembling an appetizer board, forget the vacuum-packed supermarket meats! The products must be of the highest quality as they are the foundation of your dinner aperitif, just like when you're hosting a raclette for friends.

One of the most important tips for succeeding in this type of appetizer is to serve artisanal products, sourced from the market or a specialist (butcher or cheesemonger).

3- Don't forget the side dishes.

Another of the 5 tips for creating a beautiful charcuterie and cheese board is to include accompaniments that will enhance the basic ingredients. Even though the concept of the appetizer board is to offer guests an assortment of meats and cheeses, don't forget the essential accompaniments like mild butter and bread.

You can place on the board different types of sliced bread, such as country bread but also walnut bread and olive bread. You can also complement the bread with crackers or Italian breadsticks.

Use small bowls to serve, depending on the chosen theme and the season, green or black olives, radishes or garden cherry tomatoes, pickles or marinated artichokes.

When shopping, consider the following six categories of products:
1- cold cuts.
2- cheeses.
3- breads, crackers, and breadsticks.
4- spreads, butters, and jams.
5- savory accompaniments and vegetables like olives and pickles.
6- fresh or dried fruits such as figs, nuts, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.

Dare to mix sweet and savory.

Another of the 5 tips for creating a charcuterie and cheese board is to offer sweet accompaniments, to balance the salty taste of the cheeses and cured meats.

Among the accompaniments for your appetizer board, you can include fig or black cherry jam and mountain honey to offer your guests delicious sweet and salty combinations.

Fresh fruits such as figs or white or black grapes are perfectly suited for this type of board, bringing freshness and contrasting flavors to your dinner appetizer.

5- Pay attention to the presentation and the distribution of colors.

The last of the 5 tips for making a charcuterie and cheese board concerns the arrangement. In times of celebration and conviviality, it's important to pay attention to the presentation for a successful appetizer.

With the appetizer board, say goodbye to peanuts and olives simply served in a bowl! The board is the ideal support for arranging the different sorts of ingredients harmoniously. Take the opportunity to compose an appetizer full of colors where each element is nicely arranged.

To achieve a well-balanced presentation, start by placing on the board the containers that will hold the accompaniments (olives, pickles, etc.). Then place the whole cheeses, followed by the cheeses cut into slices or cubes.

Arrange the bread or crackers so that they are easily accessible to the guests, that is to say, along the edges of the board. For the charcuterie, vary the shapes by arranging the ham in a chiffonade, the slices of salami in a rosette, and the other meats in small rolls.

Finally, fill the empty spaces with the smallest ingredients such as fresh or dried fruits and think about creating contrast between the colors. The secret of a beautiful appetizer board is to vary the shapes and colors of the ingredients: a wow effect is guaranteed!