Chocolate & Cheese Extravaganza for Valentine's Day!

Yes, you read that correctly! This post came to me when I was trying to figure out something different to share for Valentine’s Day! I love cheese and I love chocolate…they both make you feel good, so why not put them together! More and more often, I’m seeing a bit of chocolate on a cheese board, but how do you know which chocolate to pair with which cheese? Of course, there is no right or wrong answer, but I did find a few guidelines and they make perfect sense! Keep reading to learn about how to make your own chocolate and cheese board for Valentine’s Day!

What I Learned…

The rule of thumb, according to every website I looked at said to pair chocolate with a cheese that has a similar flavor profile. If a cheese has a nutty flavor, pair it with a chocolate that is more nutty. I’m still not clear if this means chocolate with nuts, but that’s how I took it.

If your cheese is a little funky,, pair it with an exotic chocolate. I’m not sure what that means either, so you can see where the confusion lies. I know about funky cheese, but I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted funky chocolate (or if I want to!).

The one “rule” that I read over and over is to pair a strongly flavored cheese with dark chocolate and that makes perfect sense. So blue cheese, Homboldt Fog, anything strong and slightly stinky goes with a good rich dark chocolate. This is definitely a good pairing according to my taste buds, but taste for yourself to come up with pairings that suit!

Everyone’s taste buds are different, so I say, read the recommendations and then, pair your chocolate and cheese the way you like it. This will take some experimentation and I know that’s going to be hard, but you know, someone’s got to do it! Keep in mind that both chocolate and cheese have a creamy and fatty component so that is what makes them compatible. Scroll further for some basic recommendations and then, make this your own board!

To assemble this display, I used a variety of different serving pieces…a heart shaped board, a square footed aluminum serving piece, an oval tray and a pedestal milk glass bowl (for the potato chips).

Basic Pairings…

Spreadable fresh goat cheeses pair well with dark chocolate - 70 to 80% cocoa.

Triple Cream Cheeses- runny in the middle…pairs with 80to 90% cocoa or milk chocolate. I don’t care for the milk chocolate because it’s just too rich and not enough contrast, but that’s just a preference!

Washed rind cheeses such as Taleggio pair well with 60 - 80% cocoa.

Dense, nutty cheeses such as Comte, Gruyere, Farmhouse cheddar and aged goudas pair well with 75 - 80% cocoa.

Blue cheeses pair well with 75 - 90T cocoa.

When pairing my chocolate and cheese, for the most part, I went with the like to like pairing because it seemed easy and made sense. I paired spicy cheese with spicy chocolate such as Lindt Excellence Chili Dark Chocolate Bar with spicy gouda. The spiciness of the cheese stands up to the chocolate making it an excellent pairing.

Another pairing I loved was Farmhouse Cheddar paired with Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar and a thick cut truffle potato chip (be careful not to eat the whole bag while you’re putting your board together).

Pair Parmesan cheese with Vosges Parmesan Walnut and Fig Chocolate Bar for a melt in your mouth combination!

Smoked Gouda and smoked cheddar are amazing with dark chocolate with almonds.

Try Bissinger’s Bourbon & Pecan Bar with a Morbier cheese or a Comte! It’s such an amazing flavor combination and don’t forget a few toasted pecans to serve alongside!

I think by now, you’re getting the idea. If it sounds good to you, try it and see. Chances are it’s a good combination!

What I used on my board…

Cheeses

Sequatchie Cove Shakerag Blue, Roth 3 Chili Pepper Gouda, Parmegiano Reggiano, Aged Farmhouse Cheddar, Humboldt Fog, Mimolette (hard orange cheese), Taleggio and I think that’s all.

Chocolate

Dark chocolate sea salt caramels, Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar by Vosges, Chocolate covered peanuts and cashews, Raaka Bourbon ask Aged Unroasted 82% Dark Chocolate (delicious), Manchego and Cherry by Vosges, Lindt Chili Dark Chocolate, Vosges Black Salt Caramel Exotic Chocolate Bar. and Taza Super Dark Chocolate Disc. I wanted to use different textures and flavors so that’s why I used the chocolate covered nuts and the caramels.

Fruits

Fresh Cherries and Red Currents

Marcona Almonds

Crackers

Rainforest Crisp Hazelnut and Chocolate and Almond and Date Crackers, 34 Degrees Crisps Black Pepper Crisps and Kettle Sea Salt and Truffle Potato Chips (these are so delicious)

Spreads

Hot Pepper Jelly, Fig Preserves and Red Hot Pepper Jam (I used what I had that was red)!

For a special Valentine’s Day touch, I sprinkled rose petals over the whole thing!

The day we put all of this together it was very grey and rainy and the pictures are darker that I wanted them to be even after editing! Hopefully you can see them well enough to get a few ideas for your own cheese and chocolate board!

Leave a comment (please) and let me know what you think of this post! Happy Sunday!