How to Style a Charcuterie Board: Fall Edition
I love a hearty charcuterie board, and I especially love to create them for my friends and family! In this post i’ll go over my thought process behind creating and styling them with ease that way you can go make one for yourself and show off those hidden skills no one knew you had. Typically, I like to create boards that compliment the season. Whatever you decide, have fun with it!
Pick your small props. This can be anything from a stylish bowl to cute cutlery to fresh or dried herbs. For this Fall board, I picked a baby pumpkin and mini gourds, a mini espresso spoon, a honey pot, a bamboo knife, a terra cotta dipping dish and fresh rosemary sprigs for garnishing.
Pair certain foods with each other. Food placement makes it easier for people to navigate your board. For this board I paired the fig jam/figs with the goat cheese, the crackers near the hummus, the salty mushroom Brie with the walnuts and dried figs and the prosciutto with the cucumber. This isn’t a huge deal especially if your board is not large, so don’t sweat it.
Try to source your meat from a local farmer. Pastured pork belly straight from the farmer will be more nutrient dense than a conventional dry salami or prosciutto. Nitrate free pork still contains ingredients that can harm you. Focus on where your meat comes from. Same goes for cheeses.
Incorporate something green. People like to have that crunch, but also feel like they ate something “healthy” that day. Since my board wasn’t too big, the only green I incorporated was from the sliced cucumber and fresh rosemary.
Have some type of carb people can use for dipping besides veggies: French baguette, sprouted crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, etc. and as always- make sure they are free from those highly processed oils! Check out my blog post on the best and worst oils here.
Pick foods that are in season. I used figs, grapes, carrots, apples and peppers. I also got pears but didn’t have room for them! Other great in season fruits and veggies include radishes (look for the watermelon radishes because they are so pretty when sliced open), pomegranate, artichokes, edamame, curly endive, celery, broccoli and cauliflower. Herbs are great because they add some greenery to your board, fresh herbal aromas and an aesthetically pleasing image. Look for hearty herbs that are fresh in the Fall like rosemary, parsley, thyme and sage.
Food placement shouldn’t be completely symmetrical on a cheese/charcuterie board. Have fun with staggering veggies or layering meats to maximize the small space you have to work with.
Lastly, make sure you fill every empty space on your board. Yes, every crack, every crevice. This makes the board truly look polished and complete. The easiest way to do that is using small pieces of fruit or nuts. For this board, I used walnut halves and pieces.
I really hope you guys find joy in making a board that your loved ones (or all for yourself because you deserve that too) will be raving about for weeks! Leave a comment below if you have any questions or need more styling ideas or tips, happy board making!
Love and health,
Ro