Pure Dark Chocolate & Cheese Pairing

A few weeks ago, I received a couple of samples from Pure Dark through Foodbuzz in the mail to try out.  With Valentines Day right around the corner, chocolate is on my mind.....and cheese is always on my mind.

Rather than do your traditional chocolate and wine pairing, why not do chocolate and cheese pairing?  How can anything about that idea be wrong?!  Especially if you also include some favorite red wine. 

Real California Milk sent me this chocolate and cheese pairing chart just last week.  What a perfect opportunity to put the two together.

{just click on the chart to enlarge it}

The cheeses I chose to pair with the Pure Dark Chocolate were; white Cheddar, blue cheese, Fontina and Gouda.  Pure Dark sent me a slab of their handcrafted dark chocolate and their Bark Classic which is topped with cherries, roasted almonds caramelized cacao nibs.

Real California Milk's recommendation is: "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 butterfat cheeses.  Want to spice things up a bit?  Try pairing spicy chocolates with sharp cheeses - the intensities play off each other beautifully!" 

With my pairing of Pure Dark and the cheeses I chose, my favorite combination was the Pure Dark Slab and the Spring Hill White Cheddar made right here in California.  I thought the two flavors went perfectly together.  I only wish I had done the tasting at night so I could have included a glass of Zin as well.

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