Use A Cookie Cutter To Transform Cheese And Charcuterie Boards

When you want to level up your hors d'oeuvres, a charcuterie board is a solid option. You can cut and arrange your preserved foods, such as meats and pâtés, along with cheeses, crackers, and bread to make a spread that is as appealing to the eye as it is to the palate. However, if you want to take your presentation to the next level, you're going to want to use a cookie cutter.

When you think about the "wow" factor, simply slicing or cubing cheese isn't very exciting. While you could shave some cheese, that's not very practical — cheese shavings can be difficult to spear with a pronged knife. A much better option is to cut your cheese into fun shapes, such as hearts, stars, flowers, and more, with a cookie cutter. This little hack doesn't take much time and it can spruce up your charcuterie board, making any affair more memorable.

Before using your cookie cutter to add a little flair to your spread, it's important to remember that not all cheese is suitable. Some cheeses may be too soft and crumbly to hold a shape, while others might be too hard to easily cut. Something between crumbly blue cheese and Parmesan is best.

Also, it's important to keep the size and shape of your cheese in mind. Obviously, the cheese has to be large enough to fit the entire cookie cutter. A rectangle is the best shape because it gives you the most room. If the cheese is in a triangle, you will lose precious space, making it hard to fit the entire cookie cutter. And if you are using an embossed cookie cutter, there is a limit to how thick the cheese can be for this technique to work.

If you love the idea of using a cookie cutter on cheese, you might want to consider using it on suitable meat and breads so you have an entire bounty of shapes on board.