What is a charcuterie or delicatessen meat?
“Charcuterie” comes from the word “chair-cuitier”
which means “flesh cooker” and “charcutier” which translates to
cooked pork butcher or delicatessen dealer! Charcuterie or deli
meat originally referred only to cooked, dried, smoked, or cured
pork meat and offals. Today when we speak of charcuterie, we mean
the processed meat of any animal, including beef, veal, lamb,
poultry and their giblets and offals.
Other ingredients are also used in making deli products including
binding agents, starch, flour, jellies, eggs, conservation agents
like sodium nitrite and seasonings such as salt, herbs and spices.
Deli meat is raw and fermented or cooked. It can also be salted,
smoked or dried.
Classic Antipasto
- Three or four varieties of salami
- Slices of prosciutto
- Slices of cooked ham
- Slices of mortadella
- Slices of Provolone cheese
- A variety of olives
- Fresh cooked asparagus
- Oil and garlic marinated red peppers, cut in strips
- Oil and garlic marinated artichoke hearts
- Hearts of palm
- Marinated mushrooms
- Marinated cauliflower florets
Arrange nicely on a large platter and set at the centre of the
table!