Crackers are a lovely centerpiece for any casual or elegant charcuterie board. They offer a sweet and savory twist to the platter and act as a solid base for transporting various meat and cheese accoutrements into your mouth.
Instead of serving bread, crispy and savory crackers are a lightweight wafer that is perfect to accompany with various spreads, meat, cheese, jams, fruit, and nuts on board for charcuterie. Charcuterie boards greatly benefit from quality and flavorful crackers.
What crackers go best with charcuterie board? Finding crackers that go best with a charcuterie board depends on the type of cheese that is being served with. The golden rule is, the stronger the cheese, the milder the cracker.
The most popular cheese and cracker pairings include:
- Parmigiano Reggiano, Gouda, Manchego: multigrain, whole wheat crackers, seeded crackers, olive oil crackers
- Brie, Camembert, Comté: water crackers, fruited crackers, crostini
- Blue, limburger: sweet, fruited crackers, wafer crackers, croccantini
- Cheddar cheese: club crackers, Ritz, buttery crackers
- Chevre, Humboldt fog, Roquefort: fruited crackers, herby crackers
- Boursin, havarti dill: wafer crackers, olive oil crackers
There is not only one single cracker that goes well with aged, soft, stinky, sharp, goat, or herbed cheese on a platter. The next time you have guests over, treat them to delicious meats and cheese, and load the snack sections with crackers.
Charcuterie board is a house warming introductory appetizer that can be served with main dish afterwards. But what crackers should be included in a charcuterie board? Well, this article answers frequently asked questions about the best crackers to add to a charcuterie board.
Do you put crackers on a charcuterie board?
Yes, you can put crackers on a charcuterie board. They act as a critical building block to layer different flavors and add a crisp or crunchy texture.
Additionally, crackers are a light appetizer to assemble cheese and meats without getting full from serving heavier slices of bread.
Be sure to add two to four different varieties of crackers to give plenty of options. They are an essential vehicle for delivering savory cheeses and meats to your mouth with a crunch.
What crackers go best with charcuterie?
When selecting the crackers to add to the charcuterie board, be sure they blend perfectly with the cheeses. The creaminess and age of cheese may vary the type and flavor of crackers.
The best crackers to add to a charcuterie board include:
- Crostini: These are the most popular cracker pick for a charcuterie board. For cheeses, they blend perfectly with brie or any goat cheese. They also complement salami, prosciutto, fig jam, walnuts and maple syrup.
- Herb crackers: These crackers have a cheesy flavor with a few sesame seeds and poppy seeds that is best suited for chèvre, humboldt fog, roquefort cheese or goat and sheep cheeses in general. They are quite flavorful and compliment chardonnay wine perfectly.
- Multigrain: Any whole wheat or seeded multigrain crackers are perfect with aged cheeses such as parmigiana reggiano, gouda, and manchego.
- Sea salt crackers: Pairs wonderfully well with a charcuterie board filled with gruyere, cheddar or pimento cheese. It’s also perfect with grain mustard, pecans, thinly sliced pickles and jelly.
- Water crackers: Known for being crumbly crackers with a hint of saltiness, they pair perfectly with any meat or cheese type. However, they are pretty fragile and create a mess when biting into them. This is the ideal cracker pairing if you have gruyere cheese with pecans and grain mustard or sharp cheddar with sliced pickles.
- Fruit crackers: Crackers that have dried fruits are a great addition to serve with stinky cheeses like blue cheese and limburger cheese to blend or mild out the odor.
- Buttery crackers: Rich and buttery crackers such as club crackers or Ritz taste great with sharp cheeses such as cheddar cheese.
What cracker flavors go well with a charcuterie board?
Crackers come in different flavors and textures. It’s recommended to start with a mild-flavored cracker, but try to always add at least one whole grain or nutty flavored crackers to a complex charcuterie board.
Go for flaky, buttery crackers like ritz or grain crackers like Triscuits. Water crackers are also a go-to since they are flavorless and allow other charcuterie flavors to shine.
Here are cracker flavors that go well with charcuterie board:
- fruited crackers + brie cheese + spicy salami + apricot jam
- multigrain crackers + gouda + prosciutto + walnuts
- ritz + cheddar cheese + green apples + pecans
- herb crackers + chevre cheese + pear + pine nuts
- wafer crackers + blue cheese + figs + walnuts
Crackers With Charcuterie: Conclusion
When it comes to events, there is no better way to express your creativity than preparing an intricate charcuterie board. This is no different with crackers, sample different cracker types and go with what selections that best fit the meats, spreads, jams and cheeses on the board.
To balance out the handful of ingredient flavor in a charcuterie board, remember to select the cracker based on the type of cheese. The stronger the cheese, the milder cracker flavor should be.
For any aged cheese due to strong flavor, pair with multigrain, whole wheat, seeded crackers. If the cheese is creamy and soft, yet stinky, pair with sweet fruited crackers.
When serving sharp cheddar cheese, buttery ritz crackers will do the job; and goat cheese or herbed cheese pairs wonderfully with herb or water crackers.
Crackers are highly dependent on the type of cheese when building a charcuterie board. Make a wise decision to create flavorful and delicious cracker and cheese pairings, and everything else will fall in place.