As we take time to gather safely with loved ones during this holiday season, nothing elevates a gathering like a beautiful meat and cheese board. Break out those cutting boards and serving trays and get crafty with delicious bites from Community Foods producers!
Community Foods on Your Seasonal Snack Spread
LaClare Farm Chevre
Local, Small-scale
Chevre is a cool, creamy, tangy, and spreadable goat cheese that looks beautiful on a cheese board. LaClare Farms’ honey or garlic herb-seasoned cheeses can add a wider variety of flavors to your board. Goat milk is also easier to digest, so it’s great for those who love cheese but have a sensitive stomach. When you choose LaClare Farms, you’re supporting a local, family-run farm that sources milk from local, Wisconsin goat farmers.
Widmer’s Four-Year Cheddar
Local, Small-scale
Bright yellow cheddar cheese adds a sunny pop of color to any cheese board, and Widmer’s Four-Year Aged Cheddar incorporates an additional complexity. As cheddars age, they sharpen and create mouthwatering crystals in the cheese. This four-year cheddar isn’t so sharp that it will clash with other tastes on the board, and shows off some of the rich nuttiness of this tasty cheese. You can trust Widmer’s to use their old-school techniques, as this third-generation cheesemaker has been honing their skills since 1905.
Red Table Meat Salumis and Sliced Meats
Local, Small-scale
Sliced meats and salumis have a home on any omnivorous cheese board. They can add smoky, savory, and salty elements that really round out any holiday gathering cheese board. Red Table Meats pack a wallop of flavor in their salumis and they respect the animal and old-world curing traditions to preserve the delicious porkiness of locally-raised pigs. Choose their sliced meats for an easy board-building option or grab a few salumis for more variety.
Velvet Bees Honey Butter
Local, Small-scale
Any good meat and cheese board worth its salt has a spread on it worth smearing on a cracker before topping with cheese. If not only for a bit of freshness, a good spread can pull out flavors and aromas that would not be noticed if your meat or cheese was eaten alone. Luckily, small-scale, St. Paul, Minn. producer Velvet Bees has a delicious honey butter made with only five ingredients to add a little bit of sweetness to your board.
Build Your Own Board
Sure the meat and cheese are the centerpieces of a good board, but what to do with all of the empty space? After laying down your sliced meat and cheeses, think about the textures you’ve got at play and compliment and contrast their textures and flavors.
- Add small dishes of olives, pickles, preserves, or local maple syrup for drizzling over meat and cheese.
- Bulk nuts and fresh and dried fruit are perfect for filling in the gaps on a board. Stop in the Produce and Bulk Departments to get inspired!
- Don’t forget to add crackers, pretzels, and other vessels for topping with your curated selections.