Rich, bold, decadent – a chocolate and cheese pairing is a savory-sweet love connection is sure to make your foodie heart race. General pairing principles dictate that for darker chocolates, choose a more complex, aged cheese while sweet milk chocolates work best with buttery cheeses, like Brie. Bright, fruity chocolates are perfect with sharper cheeses and nuttier chocolates find a perfect pair in high, full fat cheeses. Want to spice things up a bit? Try pairing spicy chocolates with sharp cheeses – the intensities play off each other beautifully!
Remember, when it comes to pairing, there are no firm rules, just guidelines that can get you going in the right direction. The only way to know if a pairing works is to experiment and taste for yourself. Don’t forget, even a bad pairing can be educational, so be your own matchmaker.
Here are five chocolate and cheese pairings with enough rich and delicious flavors to warm up the coldest February night that I recently sampled for Whole Foods. The goat cheese caramel went over really well as did the gouda, stilton and the brie en croute. The brie en croute tasted like a cheese filled chocolate donut!
365 Goat Cheese with chocolate covered caramels
With a simple, mild, fresh goats milk flavor, this chevre has less of the barnyardy flavors often associated with goat cheese. The smoothness of the chevre is balanced with a soft, dark chocolate caramel with a sea salt finish.
Brie En Croute with Chocolate Fondue
Brie is a smooth, buttery cheese that presents a perfect palette companion for a rich and creamy chocolate sauce. Brie en Croute is a traditional, heated brie dish that features the cheese housed in a delicate pastry shell. The addition of a packaged chocolate sauce - or a homemade version – easily transforms it into a chocolate delight. Want to kick it up a notch? Add some almonds or mixed nuts for some more crunch, flavor and vigor.
Parmesan with Milk Chocolate
This food pairing isn't just hit or miss or a guesstimation -- it's actually been studied and analyzed by scientists in a laboratory! The goal was to chart all possible food pairings to help chefs and restaurant professionals create unique dishes. Each ingredient's volatile compounds (aromas) are quantified using gas chromatography and/or a mass spectrometer. The concentrations are then compared with their respective flavor threshold and finally matched with other ingredients that have similar compounds. Does it work for you?
Stilton with El Rey 73% Dark Chocolate
Blue Cheese, with its sharp, pungent aromas and flavors will enhance the undertones of a strong dark chocolate. Stilton adds a hint of sweetness that pairs exceptionally well with
Aged Gouda with chocolate truffle or 58% Chocolate Disco with Marcona almond
Aged cheese is nutty, less acidic and with a crunchy texture that pairs well with chocolates with fillings and inclusions such as almonds, honey and maple.
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