Tapas board, serving board or drinks board. Whatever you call it: the board, loaded with small snacks, is a must for relaxed afternoons and festive evenings. It's easy, too, if you're not a kitchenprincess and a five-course dinner gives you a high heart rate. And yet ... if you have to put together such a board yourself, what exactly do you put on it and how do you make it look nice? No worries. With these tips, I'm sure your guests are going to thank you with some heartfelt ooh's and aah's.
Combine different textures with each other
The ultimate tapas board includes bites that differ from each other, but together create one great taste sensation. How do you do that? By combining different bites with each other. Therefore, make sure to make or buy bites that have varying textures. Indeed, at dinner, it is nice to alternate crunchy raw vegetables with tongue-pleasing serrano ham, juicy grapes and lightly toasted walnuts. Instead, are you looking for a typical Spanish tapas board? Then read the blog article on how to organize the perfect tapas evening.
Shelf fever: a large serving board or prefer a few small serving boards?
Large boards, small boards, rectangular boards and round boards. The choice of serving board type is entirely up to you. Long, rectangular shelves are ideal when you are sitting with the whole family at a long (dining) table. This way, everyone can easily reach them. If you are expecting slightly picky company in terms of taste - read: a collection of vegetarian, vegan or purebred carnivores - then several small boards are handy. That way you avoid "cross-contamination" and you can put that vegetable shelf a little closer to your sister and that shelf of goat cheese and roquefort near your cheese-loving brother-in-law.
The ultimate presentation of your drinks board
Eating is done first with your eyes and then with your mouth. Here, variety and excess are the two magic words you want to take advantage of. To start with "variety": dive into your china cabinet and present the appetizers on all kinds of different tapas dishes. For example, serve nuts and olives in colorful bowls, fill amuse bouquets or shot glasses with dipping sauce or a soup, skewer mini wraps on a skewer and place grapes, cheese or sausage loose on the board. Anything goes. Combine this variation with "excess. Rather have a fully loaded smaller shelf, than a large shelf where you have to look for the food. Utilize every spot on the shelf and your visitor will feast her eyes because there is simply an enormous amount to see. Believe me: they want to taste that!
The secret of a wooden serving board
There are various boards, and plates for that matter, on which to present your tapas and appetizers. But the wooden serving board is by far the favorite. Wooden serving boards look robust and, thanks to their natural, earthy color, contribute to the taste experience of the snacks placed on them. After all, attractively presented food is perceived as even more appetizing. For maximum enjoyment of your wooden tapas board, rinse it after use with a little water and possibly a drop of dishwashing liquid. Dry it and let it dry upright. Rub the serving board with oil regularly and it will brighten up your parties for years to come.