Is it just me?

[tzolkin]

Also Italian and have been eating these my entire life. Any meal with guests was preceded by a huge spread. I often would hardly eat any of the main meal because I had filled up on the snacks.

As an adult I’m happy to have this for dinner by itself with a drink or two. When my kids were little it was a perfect for a meal because they could try a bunch of different small things. They would even take a bunch of tiny containers with a variety of charcuterie-type items in their school lunches.

 

[BayouQueen]

I think they are The Best! We have every kind of picky eater in our family -- vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, paleos and carnivores. There is something for everyone on that board. I can totally see why they are very popular now. Catering is hard work these days.

 

[HeatherC]

I am a fan of them when they include the fig jam. Love the fig jam.

 

[mrodgers]

It's the current 'in thing' in entertaining. Wait a few years, it will be something else.

Yup, it's the cool thing to do.

When did it become a Charcuterie board and not a simple cheese and cracker tray? "Charcuterie" is so new my spell check doesn't even know it, LOL.

And before someone says it's more than just cheese and crackers, so was a cheese and cracker tray.

 

[disykat]

I'm with the group who is putting out the "snack trays." A cheese tray, a veggie tray, a fruit tray, etc.

I'm okay with the mixed board, but don't like if the meat is touching the fruit. Ick.

 

[ronandannette]

I am a fan of them when they include the fig jam. Love the fig jam.

I only thought I loved fig jam until I met bacon-onion marmalade.

 

[AndreaDM]

I've been making them for years, sometimes small just for myself to have with some wine, or a larger one for a group. I don't think it's a fad, but I do think there are a lot of people who had never had/made them before that are suddenly all about them. And, I will continue to make/eat them for years to come!

 

[Moliphino]

Yup, it's the cool thing to do.

When did it become a Charcuterie board and not a simple cheese and cracker tray? "Charcuterie" is so new my spell check doesn't even know it, LOL.

And before someone says it's more than just cheese and crackers, so was a cheese and cracker tray.

Well, if there's no meat it isn't charcuterie.

 

[ronandannette]

Well, if there's no meat it isn't charcuterie.

Yes - if there’s no meat we just call it a cheese board.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I love them, but it is ok if you don't. There are lots of food items I do not like but others love.

 

[_19disnA]

People just use it to mean a meat and cheese platter now.

I agree since it isn't any specific combination of items, it can be anything you like. Just a trendy term to describe what most of us have generically called these things by various names over the years.

 

[design_mom]

I have also been eating "meat & cheese trays," "relish trays" and "antipasto platters" for years. But I think charcuterie is as much about the presentation as it is about the food. It is much fancier than the meat and cheese trays of my youth (when it was "fancy" if you rolled the slices of meat or fanned out the slices of cheese). Charcuterie boards also often include nuts, fruit, pickles & olives, jellies/sauces, etc. Back in the day, we probably would have served those things alongside the meat & cheese tray, but not necessarily combined with the meat & cheese in the presentation.

I also think charcuterie is a fad. Yes, the concept has been around for a long time, but it's definitely experiencing a fad-like surge in popularity. Similar to how fondue has been a thing for years, and is still a thing today, but there was definitely a major spike in popularity for a while.

 

[mrodgers]

Well, if there's no meat it isn't charcuterie.

Point is, cheese and crackers weren't just cheese and crackers. It was a cheese and cracker tray until someone started using a fancy word and now that it's fancy, everyone has to post it up on social media to boost their scores even though everyone's been doing it without a fancy name for decades.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It's a snack tray with a fancy name that most folks cannot pronounce and don't care that they can't.

Shark Coochie tray?

 

[Keli]

I'm a fan of charcuterie boards. I guess we kind of had them all my life but we called them a 'meat and cheese platter' and then would serve fruit, dips, crackers, etc with them. But they look so much nicer now and have a lot more extras with them that I really enjoy.

 

[disykat]

I think they are The Best! We have every kind of picky eater in our family -- vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, paleos and carnivores. There is something for everyone on that board. I can totally see why they are very popular now. Catering is hard work these days.

We have food allergies and sensitivities, in addition to what you've mentioned above. Charcuterie boards are NOT friendly to those with cross contamination issues!

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Charcuterie, antipasto, smorgasbord, mix-n-match food on a wood slab… whatever you want to call it, I’m a fan. We do a big one for New Year’s Day and nosh on it all afternoon. We typically do another for Super Bowl and then maybe a couple more throughout the year when we think hey, we haven’t done one of those in a while. And I’ll probably throw together a mini one to snack on tonight thanks to this thread.

 

[BayouQueen]

We have food allergies and sensitivities, in addition to what you've mentioned above. Charcuterie boards are NOT friendly to those with cross contamination issues!

Oh of course. Goes without saying that nobody with these issues would approach a charcuterie board.

 

[disykat]

I also think it would bother many vegetarians etc. to have their food so close to or touching food that they don't eat. I might put everything on the same plate if it's just me and DH, but it's definitely separate plates when I need to accommodate different diets.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I used to be like the OP and thought those boards were ridiculous. But I've grown to appreciate and enjoy them in the past five or so years.