The Best Board For Charcuterie According To A Pro

As the MVP of parties and nights in with friends, charcuterie boards could be their own food group. No matter the occasion, a board piled high with assorted cheeses, crispy-crunchy bits, briny things, meats, fruits, and an array of spreads and dips always hits the spot. There's no shortage of guidance on the best selection of goodies using the golden rule for filling in any charcuterie board, and considering whether a few fun surprises like frozen pickles will star on your next charcuterie board. 

But the board itself matters nearly as much, one could argue, as the charcuterie you pile it with. Too small, or too large a board, and the presentation is off. If you're going to all the trouble to arrange a stunning spread, you need a beautiful starting point. One pro who knows his way around the charcuterie and the board itself is Dominick DiBartolomeo, owner of The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. For both functionality and beauty, DiBartolomeo suggests a wood board as his top pick — with marble as a runner up option. 

Explaining his preference, DiBartolomeo says, "Wood just makes it feel more rustic and shows off the cheeses nicely." When picking out your own board, you can spend as much or as little as you'd like; snagging a second-hand wooden board at the thrift store, or splurging on the luxury cutting board that Ina Garten and Giada de Laurentiis swear by. 

Sometimes the old fashioned materials are best. While substrates like marble, plastic, glass, and metals all have their place in the kitchen, in many cases the materials your grandmother or her grandmother used still outperform more modern or high-tech options. A trusty wood cutting board — along with a well-loved wooden spoon, while we're on the topic — are such examples of the old way being the best way. 

And lest you think wood might be unsanitary or hard to keep clean especially after being covered in cheese, meats, and the like, that simply isn't the case. "I find wood is great as long as it's properly treated and cared for," says Dominick DiBartolomeo. At his cheese shop, boards are simply washed with soap and water, then sanitized to keep things squeaky clean. Importantly, don't forget to clean wooden cutting boards on both sides. And never skip the final step; A must for keeping any wooden kitchen gadgets like boards from drying out or cracking is treating them with a swipe of food grade mineral oil to keep the wood healthy, moisturized, and beautiful for decades to come.