Fun Facts about Charcuterie

 I will begin this Blog journey with my Charcuterie course, I have been eating and serving these products for many years. Whether part of a 4 course sits down elaborate meal, in a grilled panini sandwich or a quick afternoon snack. I never stopped to think about how, where and why these products existed. All I knew was they were yummy, appreciated by people, and allowed me to be creative in multiple ways without the work and mess in my kitchen.

FunFacts:

1- The original word charcuterie is French meaning Chair (meat) cuit (cooked).
2- They can be brine, cured, aged, hot or cold smoked, confit, pickled or cooked.
3- It was used as a method of preservation of meat.
4- This method of preparing food goes back as far as the first century but is believed to be much older in its history. 
5- Though the Romans were first to document some of these methods, the French gave charcuterie its prestige. Much like wine they helped introduce it to the world.
6- Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, England, Hungry, China, to name a few countries, all make their own form of charcuterie.
7- Not only pork is used in charcuterie, but we can add: fish, poultry, game, lamb, and beef to the list.
8- A large variety of spices such as, cinnamon, allspice, dill, cardamom,sage, thyme, pepper and that is just to name a few of the popular ones that are used to help flavor the meats.
9- Wine, fruit juice and vinegar are also used as a flavoring.
10- Charcuterie platters can be introduced with sweet or sour condiments, cheeses, and bread.




And there you have it,so much more could be said about this topic but I will leave it for an other time.:)

References:
Chef Marc Vezina
Wikipedia
Charcuterie 101