How to Create a Local, Seasonal Charcuterie Board
September 3, 2021 by Buy Fresh Buy Local of Western PA
Charcuterie Boards are always in season. However, the best ingredients to present on said charcuterie boards always change with the season. Or at least in our world, they do. A simple way to make sure your charcuterie board features the freshest ingredients is to shop for all your components from your local farmers’ markets. Buy Fresh Buy Local of Western PA teamed up with a couple of our favorite Pittsburgh foodies to chat all-things-charcuterie and how they utilize their farmers’ market hauls to create epic seasonal charcuterie boards.
Meet Chandni, the creator behind @chandskitchen
What are some of your charcuterie board staples?
“Cheese of course! The options are endless! I usually like to have one soft cheese like goat or brie, something spicy, and then a harder cheese like cheddar or Gouda. After the cheese, you can put almost anything on the board from break and crackers to fresh fruit and vegetables!”
What are your seasonal go-to’s you like to include on your Summer charcuterie boards?
“Fresh jams! They pair perfectly with Brie or goat cheese and bring your board to the next level. There are so many options at the farmer’s market like peach pepper jam, blueberry lavender, or even tomato jam!”
What items work well on a charcuterie board that most people wouldn’t think to add to their boards?
“Vegetable Pate and other dips! If you need to fill some space on a board savory dips, like hummus or spicy mustard, will balance the fresh jam or honey on the board.”
What details help take your boards to the next level?
“Pops of color! The peach pepper jam is so bright and brings a different color to the board! You can always use fresh fruit and vegetables to add more color. I usually add berries, grapes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers.”
Board details:
Cheeses, Vegetable Pate, and crackers – Chantels Cheese
Baguette – Mediterra Bakehouse
Peach Pepper Jam – Two Acre Farm
Berries- Woolf Farms
Cherries – Sturges Orchards
-Chandni Patel, @chandskitchen
Meet Star Laliberte & Jennifer Kostick, the creators behind @gourmandburgh
What are some of your charcuterie board staples?
Marcona almonds make their way onto 99% of our boards. Dried fruit is also a staple. We like using dried apricots and figs. And if figs are in season, you’ll find fresh figs incorporated as well.
What are your seasonal go-to’s you like to include on your Summer charcuterie boards?
Berries are definitely a summer go-to. We love all berries! Strawberries, be them whole, halved, or fanned make a great addition to any board (always leave the green on!). Smaller berries like blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are great for filling in small spaces. In the summer when we source a lot of our fruits and vegetables from farmer’s markets, we like to utilize as much of our purchase as possible, leaving stems and greenery intact. It really makes for a lovely presentation.
What items work well on a charcuterie board that most people wouldn’t think to add to their boards?
“We like to occasionally add a small bowl of marinated vegetables. Just like using both fresh and dried fruits, adding some marinated veggies along with fresh is a really nice addition.”
What details help take your boards to the next level?
“Charcuterie boards are a snack of epic proportion! They can be enjoyed as an appetizer, a dessert, and even as a meal. There are many different ways to style a board, but one of our favorites is by far to layer an abundance of items. We like to make sure every inch of our board is covered. Then we finish off with fresh flowers and herbs.”
Board details:
*Meats and cheeses (dry-cured meats chorizo Seco and Campo Seco, Marigold, Wild Rosemary from Goat Rodeo, and St Malachi cheeses) all from Chantal’s Cheese Shop
*Cherries from Sturges Orchards
*Baguette and chocolate hazelnut biscotti ends (broken into bite-sized pieces) from Mediterra Bakehouse
*Fresh apricots that we dried from Freedom Farms
*Basil, cherry tomatoes, and ground cherries from Be Wilder Farm
*Radishes from Tiny Seed Farm
*White bean artichoke salad and Kalamata olive hummus from Hello Hummus
*Tomato Jam from The Pickled Chef
*Fresh flowers from Sol Patch Gardens
* Blueberries from Woolf Farms
-Star Laliberte & Jennifer Kostick, Gourmandburgh Girls @gourmandburgh
Now that you have all the tips and tricks to create your own epic seasonal charcuterie board head out to your favorite farmers market and get crafting. Not only will you be eating well, but your friends and family are bound to be more than impressed with your charcuterie skills.
This post is sponsored by: Buy Fresh Buy Local of Western PA
Filed Under: News, Sponsor Content
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