Charcuterie vocabulary you need to know!

As every charcuterie company out there, on our social media channels, website and here, on our blog, we often use vocabulary that isn’t necessarily that commonly known. The words we’re talking about are related to charcuterie and usually come from French (just like charcuterie itself). For us and some of you, their meaning might be obvious, but we decided to create this small “charcuterie expert dictionary” to make sure our communication across channels is always clear to all our existing and potential customers. The list isn’t too long and doesn’t cover all the vocabulary, but it will surely be helpful to some.

Apéro

Apéro is this time of the day after work when French people meet with their friends over a drink and snacks to have a moment to reset during the day before dinner. It is absolutely sacred in France and very often involves a charcuterie board.

Charcuterie

Those of you who read our blog explaining the history of charcuterie know that this term is actually related to pork. Nowadays, charcuterie is known as the art of preparing and arranging cheeses, meats, dried and fresh fruits, pieces of bread, olives, nuts and more on a (usually) wooden board.

Charcutier

Well, that would be us! Charcutier is the person who prepares charcuterie! From selecting and buying products, to cutting and arranging them, the charcutier is a creator of charcuterie and uses his creativity and knowledge to make sure every charcuterie is special.

Crudités

You might have seen this one on our social media recently! Crudité is a French word for a raw vegetable appetizer. Veggies can be sliced or whole, and they make a colourful composition which is accompanied by dipping sauces. Crudités are usually made of carrot, celery and pepper sticks, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and more.

Canapé

They usually consist of a cracker or bread topped or wrapped with cheese, meat, dip or anything else. Canapés are small and usually eaten in one bite. Charcuterie boards are perfect for creating different canapé compositions.

Hors d’oeuvres

Hors d’oeuvres literally means “outside of work”. In France, that’s how people call the appetizers (starters) so any small bites and finger food that are served outside of main dishes. Charcuterie platter to share works perfectly for hors d’oeuvres.

Are you feeling a bit more French now? We certainly do! Since charcuterie is originally from France, we might be using all of the above terms quite often. It feels natural to us and we hope it will now feel natural to you too! Let us know if you have any other vocabulary you would like us to explain (or learn!). We’re looking forward to your suggestions and we hope you enjoyed reading our little charcuterie dictionary.