PART OF Summer Grilling

How to Build a Rainbow Charcuterie Board for Pride

Take the beauty and symbolism of the iconic Pride flag and make it a feast for all the senses in the form of a fabulous charcuterie board. It may sound like a daunting task, but we break it down into easy-to-follow steps. Feel free to choose your own favorite ingredients and add more colors so that your Pride nibbles authentically reflect your identity (and your pride).

Written by Carlos Olaechea
Recipe & Photography by Jonathan Melendez

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A Little Background

The LGBTQ+ Pride flag was originally made up of eight colors when it was first created by Gilbert Baker in the late 70s. Since its initial debut, the flag has gone through several modifications, including the removal of the hot pink and turquoise stripes, which symbolized sex, magic and art. The most recent changes include additional stripes to represent the trans community, those affected by HIV/AIDS and Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) — all of whom were at the frontlines of the the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

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Know Your Colors

The Pride flag we all know today consists of six colors: red (symbolizing life), orange (symbolizing healing), yellow (symbolizing sunlight), green (symbolizing nature), indigo (symbolizing serenity) and violet (symbolizing spirit). The updated flag includes black and brown (symbolizing BIPOC), light blue and pink (symbolizing trans individuals) and white (symbolizing HIV-positive individuals and those whom were lost to AIDS).

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Get your ingredients

It’s a good idea to plan out what items you’re going to include in your Pride charcuterie board. This way you can identify exactly what foods will represent each color without having to frantically look for something indigo at your local grocery store. However, this can also be a fun opportunity to explore your community and venture out to new stores that may sell some ingredients you never thought to use before. Remember that Pride Month is about inclusiveness, so round up as many different types of goodies as you can.

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Set up your board

You don’t have to have an enormous and fancy chopping block in order to make an enormous and fancy Pride charcuterie board. You don’t even need to have just one, either. Bring out all your favorite plates, bowls, boards and trays and arrange them beautifully wherever you’re going to want to build your board. Remember that this will be the focal point of your table, so make sure you give it pride of place (no pun intended). Look at it like setting up your canvas for all the beautiful colors of the rainbow!

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Anchor your colors

A good approach to make sure all your different colors of foods are evenly and beautifully distributed is to anchor each color. Start off with the color red and choose the most flamingly vibrant ingredient you have. Firmly and proudly install it wherever you want on your charcuterie board. Then do the same with the other colors.

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Remember the Order

We don’t want to cramp your style, but there is an order to the colors on a rainbow. An acronym for keeping the order of the colors straight (we promise that will be the only straight thing about this) is ROY G. BIV -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. You want to make sure that the colors flow in that order, although it can be as curvaceous as you want. Give your board some voluptuous lines and celebrate the diverse bodies that make up the LGBT+ community.

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There are many shades

Sure, we know that you’re going to include various colors to represent the colors of the rainbow. However, remember that there can be a lot of variety within each color, too. Take a look at this selection of warm-colored foods (red, orange and yellow). There are different shades of each color from cheerful pastel yellow to more brooding oxblood red.

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Go for Variety

As well, don’t forget about textures, flavors and even temperatures. Just as Pride is a reminder that there are no limits to how you identify as a beautiful and valued individual, there should be no limits to how you put together your charcuterie board. Place a bowl of cinnamon candies next to some Chinese-style BBQ pork and a bowl of marinated sun-dried tomatoes. If you love it, be proud of it!

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Start Filling in

Once you have an anchor for each color, start filling in the spaces in between. For a gorgeous ombré effect, you can get intermediate colors to transition from one stripe in the rainbow to the next one. For instance, a nice chartreuse or celedon can help the eyes travel seamlessly from the yellow to the green foods in your edible display.

Enjoy

Pride Month is also about having the freedom to follow your bliss, whatever that may look like. Make sure to take some time to really enjoy the fruits of your labor and this delectable expression of your unique personality. Happy Pride!

Get the Recipe: Rainbow Charcuterie Board

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