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Emily Explores the Land: The art of making charcuterie boards

They're the perfect thing to take to your next holiday gathering.

CLEVELAND — It's a practice that really took off during the pandemic and now, it's hard to scroll through any social media feed without seeing pictures of charcuterie boards.

In this edition of Emily Explores the Land, Emily Mayfield met up with the woman behind a small, Cleveland-owned business called West Side Charcuterie.

Rachel Balko started her business in February of 2020. Before that, she utilized her creativity making smaller boards for just herself and her husband Ryan.

"I have made boards and grazing options for individuals, all the way up to 200 people," said Balko.

When you're selecting your cheeses, you want to make sure there's a wide variety of textures and flavors," said Balko. Some different options include brie, aged cheddar, gouda and Parmigiano Reggiano. And they should be cut into different shapes as well -- thin slices, cubes, and Balko even uses the edge of her knife to put grooves in some of the pieces as well.

For the meats, Balko tends to gravitate towards different types of salamis, some with peppercorn rinds, some flavored with truffle, as well as prosciutto. She places them around the piles of cheese on her boards.

Next, Balko says to fill in those spaces with fruit -- dried or fresh. For the boards she and Emily made, she used grapes, cranberries and berries.

Balko also advises using small cups or bowls for dips like honey, hummus or mustard. She also uses salty additions to her boards, like pickles or olives, as well as something sweet -- typically cookies or pretty candies.

Finally, Balko uses garnish to fill in even more space and create some movement on her boards. Since she likes to use all-edible materials, that means herbs and greens.

Balko says that she plans to being offering classes on building charcuterie boards, where attendees can sip wine while they learn the tricks of the trade.

*Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous addition of "Emily Explores the Land."

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