A guide to pairing cheese and chocolate — an indulgent, surprising combination, with the best matches from dark chocolate to creamy and aged cheeses.
Cheese and chocolate might be the most decadent pairing of all — two rich, complex, beloved foods that, matched well, create something surprising and delicious. Here's a guide to pairing cheese and chocolate.
An Indulgent, Surprising Pairing
Cheese and chocolate may sound unusual, but both are rich, fermented (or aged), complex foods with deep flavors, and they can pair remarkably well. The combination plays on sweet-and-savory contrast and on shared notes — the nutty, caramel, fruity, or earthy flavors that both cheese and chocolate can have. It's an indulgent, modern pairing perfect for a dessert course or a special tasting, and it never fails to intrigue guests.
The Principles
Pairing cheese and chocolate relies on matching intensity and finding flavor bridges or contrasts. Match the richness and strength of the chocolate to the cheese so neither overwhelms. Look for shared flavors (the caramel notes in both aged Gouda and milk chocolate, for example) or pleasing contrasts (salty blue cheese against sweet dark chocolate). As with sweet wine, chocolate's sweetness can balance salty, pungent cheeses beautifully.
Dark Chocolate Pairings
Dark chocolate, with its intensity, bitterness, and fruity or earthy notes, pairs well with bold cheeses. It's wonderful with blue cheese — the sweet-bitter chocolate against the salty, pungent blue is a striking, delicious contrast (think of it like the port-and-blue pairing). Dark chocolate also pairs with aged cheeses like aged Gouda and cheddar, whose nutty, caramel depth meets the chocolate's richness. The higher the cocoa, the bolder the cheese it can handle.
Milk Chocolate Pairings
Milk chocolate, sweeter and creamier, pairs with milder, nuttier, and creamier cheeses. Its caramel, milky sweetness complements aged Gouda (whose butterscotch notes echo it beautifully), Gruyère, and creamy cheeses. Milk chocolate with a nutty, caramel-toned aged cheese is one of the most harmonious cheese-chocolate matches, the two melding into a dessert-like indulgence.
White Chocolate and Creamy Cheeses
White chocolate, sweet and buttery, pairs with fresh, creamy, and tangy cheeses. Its richness complements mascarpone, fresh goat cheese, and creamy cheeses, and the contrast of sweet white chocolate with a tangy fresh cheese can be lovely. Think of white-chocolate-and-cheese pairings as a route to dessert, where creamy meets creamy with a sweet-tangy interplay.
How to Pair Cheese and Chocolate
To explore, gather a few chocolates of different types (a dark, a milk, perhaps a white or a flavored one) and a few cheeses (an aged Gouda, a blue, a creamy cheese), and taste them together, noting the bridges and contrasts. Aged Gouda with caramel-toned chocolate, and blue cheese with dark chocolate, are great starting points. Serve at room temperature for the fullest flavor. It's a memorable, indulgent finale to a tasting or meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does cheese really go with chocolate?
Yes — both are rich, complex foods, and matched well they pair surprisingly beautifully, on sweet-savory contrast and shared nutty, caramel, or fruity notes.
What cheese goes with dark chocolate?
Bold cheeses — blue cheese (a striking sweet-salty contrast) and nutty aged cheeses like aged Gouda and cheddar.
What's the most harmonious cheese-chocolate pairing?
Aged Gouda with milk or caramel chocolate, whose butterscotch notes echo each other for a dessert-like indulgence.