How to Make the Ultimate Cheese Board
A well put together charcuterie board is a true skill (can we put this on our resumes?) and is sure to be a party pleaser. Whether it’s for a girls night in or a fancy holiday party, people lose their sh*t over an arrangement of cheese and crackers. We’ve had lots of practice over the years to strengthen our cheese board making skills and can truly say we’ve come a long way since Ritz and yellow cheese. So, we’ve put together a list to take your Charcuterie skills from lunchable to perfection.
To preface all of our tips, keep in mind that diversity is KEY! You need to mix together a ton of different items - we will obvi go into the specifics below.
Tip #1 - Variety of soft and hard cheeses
You want a mix of cheeses, especially because most people strongly prefer one or the other; soft or hard cheese. Our top four favorites are Beecher’s Cheddar, Brie, Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese (TJ’s) and Boursin
Tip #2 - Different types of crackers for each cheese (even though you can mix and match).
To continue talking variety, we like to dabble with both plain jane crackers (like water crackers) and flavor packed crisps. Our top favorites are Fig and Olive crackers (TJ’s), La Panzanella rosemary crackers, plain water crackers, and a baguette. A cheese like brie tastes great with a flavorful cracker whereas something like cheddar tastes unreal on a water cracker + jam. It’s recommended to have a mix of flavors and textures like crunchy vs soft to enjoy.
Tip #3 - Use a large flat board (wood, stone or marble) but don’t let it peak through!
One of our best tips is to avoid any gaps between the variety of foods. You can fill in any extra space between the cheeses and crackers with nuts, fruits, etc (will go in more detail below). We don’t like any of the surface creeping through on our boards so we fill as much as possible.
Tip #4 - Fruits and Other Fixings
This is where it gets really fun, because you have your Charcuterie foundation with all the cheese and crackers but you can spruce it up with all the other extras. First and foremost, a fig jam or spicy jelly screams that you’re an expert. It makes our mouths water thinking about a cracker with jam and cheddar… YUM! We incorporate at least one dried fruit and one fresh fruit. Our top picks are fresh grapes and dried oranges (TJ’s). Nuts are another great fixing that work well to fill up remaining space on the plate and add in a healthy flare. We like to use marcona almonds and pistachios.
Tip #5 - Give me the Meats
We go light on the meat selection and add in a couple slices of salami and prosciutto but you can mix in whatever else you desire. We recommend folding the slices and laying them out strategically so it doesn’t look like you just pulled them out of a plastic container (as you do).
Tip #6 - It’s All About Diversity
Like we said in the beginning, there needs to be a large variety of options with diverse flavors. Don’t be afraid to look in your pantry and fridge to mix in anything else you already have like pickles or other fruits!
Enjoy!
