Its December now and you might be thinking what are you serving for your guests during this Christmas season, while many think of their typical specialty dishes, spit roast or turkey, if you want to elevate your game and minimize the preparation time then why not prepare a grazing table? This means you won’t need to cook, just lay them out in a table and enjoy the spare time with your friends and family, it can also be a great activity setting up the table with your loved ones.
But what is Grazing Table and where did it start? Grazing tables basically is a larger, grander form of a charcuterie board where instead of serving a selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pâtés, as well as cheeses and crackers or bread on a wooden board, grazing table as the name suggest, all these elements are served on a large table, making it more than an appetizer but a centrepiece of any celebrations. Charcuterie means cured meat and it was derived from the French chair, ‘flesh’, and cuit, ‘cooked’ and has been existing since 15th century France. Charcuterie started as simple meals that had been served and eaten by laborers of the working class throughout Europe during the medieval periods. These meals evolved and found their way to higher society with the cheese course of formal dinners in 18th and 19th century France, Great Britain, and America, then it the fad faded away as it was replaced with dessert courses by the end of the 19th century.
Today it is gaining popularity again and I have been into many cocktail parties that serves this. I can understand why, it’s easy to prepare, it looks amazing and the best thing of all you don’t need to use a lot of utensils to serve them, I think that is why they continue to find popularity in private gatherings like house and dinner parties and I think it is a viable solution for this coming Christmas celebrations.
Like recipes there is also a guide for you to prepare one, you cannot just simply put any finger food you want on the table that is why we are showing you this guide on what to buy for your grazing table, a list of meats, cheeses, breads and other elements that are curated to complement the flavours and textures of everything served on the table. So here is the Grazing Table Grocery List to guide you on your next occasion.
Cheeses | Meats | Fruit |
Cheddar (Smoked, Vintage) Blue Cheese Brie Camembert Bocconcini Goats Cheese Feta Gruyere Gouda Edam Flavoured Cheeses | Prosciutto Pancetta Salami Chorizo Jamon (Serrano, Iberico) ‘Nduja Cabanossi Shrimp Cocktail | Grapes (Red, Green) Cherry Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries) Figs Watermelon Dried Apricots Dried Mango Banana Chips Prunes |
Vegetables | Nuts | Bread and Crackers |
Carrots Celery Cherry Tomatoes Cucumbers | Almonds Cashews Pecans Walnuts Pistachios | Crackers (Water Crackers, Butter Crackers, Multigrain) Pretzel Sticks Bread (Sourdough, Ciabatta, Crostini, Flatbread, Pita, Rye) |
Dips | Condiments | Others |
Hummus Basil Pesto Olive Tapenade Fig Chutney Spinach and Artichoke Dip | Caramelized Onion Jam Jam (Peach, Orange) Mustard (Whole Seed, Dijon) Honey | Olives Chocolates Nougat |
There you go, your Grazing Table Grocery List, I know it’s not complete but hopefully it will serve you as a guide on what to put on that table.
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