Impress Your Guests With the Best Charcuterie Board Books

Charcuterie boards are one of those super dishes that wow people no matter how many times you make one for them. Combine this with the fact that these boards are actually delicious, gorgeous to look at, and a way for everyone to come together, and the importance of having a charcuterie board book becomes apparent.

These special cookbooks help you come up with board ideas and execute them to perfection. But there are so many of these books available on the market. Which is the right one for you? 

The only practical way to find the ideal charcuterie board book is to consider the following factors when sifting through options online. Let’s get started. 

Cooking Skill Level

The first and arguably the most important factor to consider is your own skill level. How good are you at cooking? Can you make food look good? Can you be precise with ingredient measurements and placement? The answers to these questions will give you a rough idea of how you’ll handle making charcuterie boards. 

If you’re great at cooking with precise measurements and have prior experience in decorating platters, look for books that keep this in mind, and don’t waste your time with tips you already know. These usually go straight to the point with the board recipe and a picture of the board for reference. Expert books might not even include recipes for minute side dips and sauces. 

On the other hand, if you’re a somewhat novice, locate charcuterie books that explain everything. These have instructions on major stuff like how to style the board to minute prep stuff like which surface and vessel works better with which process. Just be honest with yourself, and don’t overestimate your own skills. The final goal is to make a delicious-looking and tasting charcuterie board. It doesn’t matter how you get there.

Ease of Following

Look for charcuterie board books with clear and easy-to-follow instructions. You might think that this point is only for folks with fewer kitchen skills, but that is not the case. No matter how good you are at cooking, you should look for a book that has simple recipes. Buying a harder-to-parse charcuterie board book will only increase your chances of making a mistake without providing any benefits in return. 

Remember that easy to understand doesn’t mean something so basic that it looks like it’s written for kids. It just needs to have an intuitive layout, clearly legible font, simple wording, and straightforward sentence structure.

Types of Recipes and Ideas

The next major consideration is the main contents of charcuterie board books, their recipes, and board ideas. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of unique board ideas out there. A single book usually includes anywhere between 30 and 50 of them. 

Some books are more focused on proper meal boards, while others put emphasis on the snacking aspect of a charcuterie board. You might also find books with ideas revolving around a certain occasion or season. Now it’s up to you to find books with ideas that interest you. 

The best way to go about this is to first read the book synopsis/description. This alone will narrow down your options considerably. Next, most books online have their first few pages available as a demo. Read through the ones that interest you to find one that fits your desires perfectly. Looking through the index will also help massively. 

Quality

If you’re buying the book in a digital form, this consideration is not for you. But, if you prefer actually holding the book, you should check the quality of the hardback or paperback before you make a purchase. 

Customer reviews often have everything you need to know about these physical attributes. If a book comes with a flimsy covering, it will fall apart very soon, and the buyer’s complaint will show up in customer reviews. If you see too many of these negative reviews, you might want to reconsider your decision.