The perfect Italian charcuterie board: cold cuts and cheese
When you think of the Italian charcuterie board par excellence, there is only one image that immediately comes to mind: the simple yet delicious pairing of cold cuts and cheese. By pairing our cured meats with mature cheeses, you can delight your palate with balanced flavors that leave room for moments of pure pleasure.
Do you know why cheese and cold cuts perfectly match together? It seems that the reason is mainly chemical, but in our opinion, it is also linked to the Italian territory and its characteristics. To make a perfect Italian charcuterie board, you must know that in Italy each region has its own flavors and traditions but sometimes the perfect pairing is achieved by mixing.
How to create the right pairing
To combine cold cuts and cheeses, it is good to think about the union according to their flavors. Here are some guidelines to follow to make delicious charcuterie boards:
– Sweet salami are ideal if matched with well-seasoned and tough cheese, for example by pairing Salame Milano with Parmigiano Reggiano;
– Mortadella is perfect if matched with fatty and aromatic types of cheese like Pecorino or Robiola cheese;
– Our ham is the ideal companion with cheese like Fontina cheese or the tasty Ricotta;
– Finally, our Italian Prosciutto goes well with provolone cheese and melted cheese.
One last tip
For the combination, it is important to keep in mind the balance of taste. Therefore, you could add jam and honey to your charcuterie board. But which jam to choose? There are several jams designed to be combined with savory food: pear jam, fig jam, citrus fruit jam, apricot jam, strawberry jam, or onion jam… there’s plenty of choice!
Our advice is: the softer and sweeter the cheese, the more acidulous the taste of jams and marmalades should be. On the contrary, the stronger and more intense the cheese, the sweeter the jam or marmalade should be.
