Chocolate Flavour Pairing Guide

20-12-2018 | Author : Deepika Namdev

When we think of chocolate its always connected with a childhood memory of that ONE taste that you are still searching & offcourse by now you must have tasted several more variations in search of that old taste… You are of any age it really dosent goes ignored if its chocolate – so as the variations & infusions these days which are paired with chocolate. Thinking of desserts the first thing in mind is always chocolate & relishing it with fruits & bakes is what we cannot avoid in any serving or anytime of the day!

In a chefs kitchen, especially for a Chocolatier – experimenting & pairing chocolate with spices to give that aromatic punch to the classic taste and with fresh seasonal fruits to make chocolate more exotic is always a most loved task. That how a new dish, flavor pops in this big industry of CHOCOLATE.

From the ages of Mayans, use of spices had been the traditional way of paring with chocolate, but with the growing trends & challenges before the industry – we now have RUBY Chocolate in the market which is recently launched, its naturally fruity in taste….thats how now combination of flavours are more diligently chosen & needs a understanding at a greater extent.

Whist the characteristics & flavor note of Dark, Milk, White & Ruby are dominantly different to each other, pairing any other flavor using spices, fruits too become a challenge. Matching the standard of each such chocolate with balance of additional flavor is always challenging, like pairing citrusy fruits with white chocolate may make it suttle & creamier but at the same time if paired with Milk chocolate will give a great bounce to the palate. Similarly Dark chocolate being bitter can neutralize sweet fruits like Banana, custard apple, Mango etc..

Whether using any chocolate be it milk, dark or white it’s always imperative to taste the chocolate to define what flavor notes it does carry to enhance flavor groupings. Boosting flavor combinations doesn’t bring a major change in its uniqueness of chocolate, however while you use fresh fruit, be sure to taste it as well by combining it with all type of chocolate to understand the variables of ripeness, acidity and other factors which affects the bitterness, sweetness and aromas of the fruit and its use with chocolate.

Few tried & tested pairing suggestions:

• Milk Chocolate: Bananas, Coconut, Grapes, Orange, Passionfruit, Pears, Raspberries
• Dark Chocolate: Raspberries, Pears, Mango, Orange, Lemon, Apricots
• White Chocolate: Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Gooseberry, Figs, dates, Mango, Strawberries