“CHAR cut EERIE“… “chart eerie“…”charc tee rey“…what?!
If you are like me (a novice chef and let us, be honest…a novice mom too), when charcuterie boards became all the hostess-with-the-mostest rage I was left feeling lost and confused on what the thing even was, let alone how to pronounce the fancy sounding French word. In an attempted effort to be “hip” and “in the know” with the trendy people, I decided to do a little charcuterie board research digging. I wanted to learn what all the fuss was about with meat and cheese clumped together on a platter. Along the way of my charcuterie board research, I found out some interesting charcuterie history, facts, and tons of charcuterie recipes. Now that I am up to my elbows in cold cooked meats and cheeses, I want to share with you what I learned. So, let us get “charcutering”!
How To Pronounce the Word Charcuterie
Let us start by learning how to pronounce the word charcuterie, shall we? The trick I have learned with pronouncing the word charcuterie properly, is to not pronounce the word charcuterie the way it looks spelled. Instead, lightly curl your tongue, purse your lips and imagine yourself lounging on the French Riviera in the warm sun while nibbling on Prosciutto and cheese (or at your kitchen table surrounded by cranky children like me, whatevs). Now that we are relaxed, say the word charcuterie with me…
“SHAR coo tuh ree”
The word charcuterie rolls off the tongue does it not? Please do not be intimidated by the somewhat difficult to say fancy sounding French word, the actual product of a charcuterie is nothing to be intimidated by at all. In fact, you can make a charcuterie board as disheveled and comfortable as you would like. Or you can be as fancy as fancy can be and make a professionally designed next level charcuterie board as well. That is what I think I like the most about charcuterie boards – they are universal, easy and anyone can make them for almost any occasion.
So What Is Charcuterie?
Traditionally, charcuterie is the art of preparing and assembling cured meats and meat products in an arranged manner on a platter. When the charcuterie board trend caught popularity in America somewhat recently, people started getting creative with the items on a charcuterie board and included other food items such as nuts, fruits, dips such as hummus or tzatziki, artisan breads, crackers, olives, pickles and the ever popular: cheese. I have even seen breakfast charcuterie boards and even dessert charcuterie boards!
History of Charcuterie…..
To continue reading this most amazing blog post which will include the very fascinating history of charcuterie and the 3 basic ingredients in creating a classic charcuterie board head on over to my post on Zulily’s The Find.
