The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

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Who doesn’t love a good charcuterie board during the summer? They’re delicious, refreshing, and hassle-free. While it may not be the most traditional Egyptian summer dish, it definitely deserves more love; and for cheese and meat lovers, it’s an absolute must.

It’s a huge misconception that you can’t get a charcuterie board in Egypt. The great thing about them is that not only are they accessible, but you can also prepare them yourself. Whether you’re looking forward to making your own charcuterie board or getting one ready-made, we got your back.

 

Where To Get a Ready-Made Charcuterie Board

You would be surprised by how accessible charcuterie boards are. You can get one from one of the bigger grocery stores like The Grocer, where you can order from their hotline number at 19393, and Gourmet, where you can either order from their website or their hotline number at 19339.

You can also order yourself a board from places like Splatter, who make all kinds of artisanal boards; Belisco, who make amazing boards and all kinds of sandwiches; Say Cheeze, who specialise in charcuterie boards, platters, and grazing tables; and The Cheese Co., who also make mouth-watering cheese boards, artisanal platters and grazing boards (and cheese knives!).

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Preparing a Great Charcuterie Board

If you want to make your own board, start by getting a wooden platter. Luckily, they’re widely available; you can get one from places like Ikea, Homzmart, or Chef May, to name just a few. Then, you want to get the star of the show, the cold cuts. Charcuterie is a French word originally referring to pork products– from cold cuts to sausage and everything in between. But used in English, it’s come to mean assortments of all kinds of cold meats, hence the charcuterie board including red meats and turkey.

You want to get your hands on some good quality cold cuts, ranging from salami, pastrami (commonly known among us as basterma) and smoked meats like turkey or anything your heart desires. You can arrange them however you like: fold them or fan them out flat on your board.

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Then grab your cheese. You want a range of orange, yellow, and white cheese, as well as hard and soft cheeses. You can cut them into cubes or slices. Another great thing about charcuterie boards is that not only is the presentation up to you but so are the types of cheese (and meat). So, if some kinds of cheese are difficult to get your hands on in Egypt, like camembert or emmental, you can use the more local stuff! Roumi cheese would work great, gouda and parmesan are very commonly used, and you can use other types of white cheese like feta or cottage cheese (known in Egypt as gebna areesh).

Then, you want to make sure that you have crackers on your board and your favourite kind of bread laid next to it. Now, fruit and nuts come in. Ideally, you want to use fruits that are in season. Charcuterie boards tend to come with berries but let’s face it; nothing beats seasonal foods. With grapes finally in season, you can garnish your board with a few small bunches. You can have some pomegranate seeds, apricots, and whatever kind of dried fruit you like. Dried figs and apricots work amazingly. Then, with nuts, you can definitely lay them directly on the board, or if you prefer to place them in a small bowl, that also works.

Lastly, you want to make sure you have some pickles, olives, and good-quality jam. Nothing left now but to enjoy a sunny afternoon sharing your charcuterie board with your loved ones.