By Erin Brassey
If there is one food trend that lives rent free in my brain, it is charcuterie boards. There is nothing better than delicious tasting food that also has the perfect aesthetic for TikTok. “Phone eats first” as they say. But sometimes it can be hard to ensure your charcuterie board is on point for the season. Follow these simple steps to make the perfect fall charcuterie board.
Decide if you want to go sweet, salty or create a combo
Since charcuterie boards became trendy, they have gone in so many directions — the Pinterest inspiration for them is endless. It used to be your basic offerings of meat, cheese, crackers and possibly some fruit. Now the sky’s the limit when it comes to deciding what to include on your board. You can stick to the classic savory combo, but you can also go full sweet and make a dessert charcuterie board. After you know which type of board you want to tackle, it’s time to move on to the details.
Think about your favorite fall flavors
First, let’s get the biggest question answered: Yes, you can totally integrate pumpkin into your charcuterie board. When you are going savory, consider getting pumpkin crackers (Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps are full of fall flavors) to pair with your cheeses. Or, you can go sweet and use pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter to make a delicious pumpkin butter to spread on any bread or cracker.
There are tons of other fall flavors to play around with. You can never go wrong with ingredients like apples – I dream about this caramel apple board – as well as pears, olives and nuts. Other fall favorites are flavors such as maple and chai.
Incorporate fall shapes and colors to really get the aesthetic right
There are two main ways to create an aesthetically pleasing charcuterie board – edible and non-edible details. Non-edible details are certainly the easiest. Place a few mini pumpkins and gourds throughout the board for your food to sit around, then line a couple of the edges of your board with fake fall leaves. These colors will pop and give you the perfect starting point.
When it comes to edible aesthetics, start by using leaf-shaped and pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters to cut out your meats and cheeses for a fun touch. Then make sure you have a wide variety of different shades of reds, yellows and oranges to really pull the whole aesthetic together. I would also add in a few pops of green with some green apples, pears, grapes or olives. This will make it so your board doesn’t all blend together. If you want to take your look to the next level, you can also create your whole board into a fall shape (this turkey board is perfect for Thanksgiving).
Invite your friends and family to come join in on the eating
Last but never least, don’t forget that all food is better with company – no matter the season. Have your friends come over for a cute little “Friendsgiving” or take your board back home to your family. You won’t go wrong either way.
Well, you are ready – so get going! Pick out your favorite fall flavors and call up your favorite people. With these simple steps you are sure to make a charcuterie board that will taste even better than it looks. Talk about a happy stomach and a gorgeous TikTok feed. Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to make all the fall charcuterie boards while enjoying the rest of the season.
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