The charcuterie board is the latest food trend that looks like it may be here to stay. A charcuterie board is a platter or board that displays an assortment of preserved meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, and other food accompaniments. The word "charcuterie" refers to cold, cured, or smoked meats.

Charcuterie boards are typically served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre, but can also be a casual meal. They’re a popular choice for entertaining at home because they are easy to assemble, require little to no cooking, and can be made ahead of time. They can be left out, unrefrigerated, for up to two hours.

Whether as an addition to a buffet table or as a full-meal deal, they are typically created with cured meats such as salami, prosciutto, bresaola, or hard soppressata. Cheddar and brie cheeses are usually the cheeses of choice. Toasted nuts and special crackers are included, along with a variety of spreads (jams, compound butter, chutneys, mustards, and fig spreads).

The charcuterie board wouldn’t be complete without a variety of fruits, like grapes, apple wedges, pear and kiwi slices, strawberries, halved plums, figs, kumquats, and dried apricots.

Finally, this pretty presentation is polished off with some pickle sticks and a variety of olives. And when I say a “variety of olive,” I mean just that. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of olive varieties all over the world. However, only about 150 are regularly cultivated for eating and making olive oil.

Different olive varieties taste different due to many factors, including soil and weather conditions, when they are harvested, polyphenol content and more. This means some varieties are better suited to your charcuterie board than others.

One that’s perfect for this use is the arbequina. With a buttery, rich, yet fruity taste and a firm, meaty texture, Arbequina olives are excellent for snacking and often added to salads. It’s originally the pride of Spain, but it’s now grown in California, making it easy to get your hands on them.

Another popular olive for charcuterie boards and antipasto platters is the bright green Castelvetrano olive. It too, has a mild, buttery flavor and is both salty and sweet. It’s also delicious on pizza, pasta, and in salads.

Folks also like the gaeta olive. It’s tart, salty, smoky while being sweet at the same time. This olive is tender in texture and slightly wrinkled in appearance. Besides being a tasty addition to a charcuterie board, it’s scrumptious when chopped and added to pasta dishes.

And then there’s the kalamata. Olive experts describe this wildly popular olive as tasting fruity and salty with hints of red wine. They’re a good all-round olive, popular for snacking, which is why you almost always see them on a charcuterie board. This is another olive that’s terrific on pizza.

With the holidays in full swing, it might be fun to look seriously at the idea of adding a charcuterie board to your modus operendi. They’re pretty, can be hearty and filled with healthy choices, and easy to put together. And don’t you like the idea of expanding your olive repertoire beyond the tried-and-true (but maybe a little boring) black olive?