Chocolate and Cheese Pairings: Review of Cabot and Tony’s

A review of Cabot Creamery and Tony’s Chocolonely recommended chocolate and cheese combinations.

Personal note: I grew up having chocolate and cheese together – chocolate milk with my grilled cheese sandwiches, slices of deli cheese alongside milk chocolate bars, or hot chocolate while munching on Cheez-Its. To say this is a favorite combination of mine would be a major understatement. I love chocolate and cheese.

Disclosure: during a recent write-up for another site about this very topic, I received a Cabot and Tony’s chocolate and cheese combination gift box, courtesy of Cabot Creamery. The gift box was offered in generosity without a promise of anything in return. Already a big fan of Cabot cheese, I jumped at the chance to give the recommended chocolate and cheese pairings a try.

Spoiler alert: It’s an amazing box of goodies sporting some of the best tasting chocolate I’ve had in a long time.

Let’s look further at the ultimate food crossover: chocolate and cheese…

Though the combination of chocolate and cheese is showcased in a number of desserts, such as cream cheese brownies, tiramisu, and chocolate cheesecake, the best way to partake in this magnificent pairing is to keep it simple with just the chocolate and cheese, as is. But with a wide range of chocolates and cheeses to choose from, how do you go about pairing them in the best way?

Cabot Creamery teamed up with Tony’s Chocolonely to bring you five top combinations of chocolate and cheese: milk chocolate with pepper Jack, milk chocolate and caramel with extra sharp cheddar, dark chocolate and almonds with 2-year aged cheddar, dark chocolate with sharp cheddar, and milk chocolate, caramel, and almond with Vermont sharp cheddar. The gift box comes complete with a pairing chart and pamphlet on how to care for your cheese.

Dark Chocolate and Seriously Sharp Cheddar

A classic chocolate and cheese pairing, dark chocolate with seriously sharp cheddar is a great combination to try first. Both sharp cheddar and dark chocolate carry bold flavor profiles. Rich, but bitter, dark chocolate holds up to cheddar’s creamy sharpness, both of which blend together to create a powerful bite. Seriously sharp cheddar borders a little on the sweet side, which matches the slight sweetness of dark chocolate. It’s definitely one of my favorites.

Tony’s dark chocolate is 70% dark, so it’s still fairly sweet as far as dark chocolate goes. Personally, I consider dark chocolate to be at least 80% and I usually reach for the 90%. So if you’re not used to that degree of darkness, you may not notice the sweetness that I did.

Milk Chocolate and Pepper Jack

Sweet and spicy have long been a go-to in the culinary world, whether you’re talking savory dishes or sweet treats. It’s also not unheard of to eat something spicy and then crave something sweet. This balanced duet tap dances on your taste buds as it delivers a one-two punch of yum. And if you enjoy spicy things, then milk chocolate with pepper jack cheese is an excellent combination to kick off this taste sensation.

One of my personal favorites, because… hello, jalapeño.

The milk chocolate is definitely on the sweet side, especially if you’re used to dark chocolate, but it’s sweet and creamy, which works really well with spicy, hot pepper jack cheese. And of course, I would also recommend dark chocolate with spicy cheese; the bitterness of dark matches the hot spice.

Dark Chocolate & Almonds with Sea Salt and 2-Year Aged Cheddar

Tony’s dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt paired with Cabot’s 2-year aged cheddar gives you an all-in-one bite that highlights sweet, salty, bitter, crunchy, sharp, rich, and creamy – all at once. Sharp, aged cheddar matches bitter, dark chocolate and the nutty flavor of the almonds. Sea salt provides an extra snap of salt.

Just as you might find chocolate, cheese, and nuts spread out on a charcuterie board, here you have everything in one bite (okay, technically two). But it is kind of like when you were a kid and shoved pieces of different foods in your mouth to eat at the same time – chocolate candies and potato chips, pretzels and cheese, chocolate chips and peanuts, or chocolate cake and cinnamon hots. Or was that just me?

Milk Chocolate with Caramel and Extra Sharp Cheddar

Cabot’s extra sharp cheddar is paired with Tony’s milk chocolate and caramel to create a sharp, yet sweet, creamy bite. Full disclosure, though, I’m not a fan of caramel but certainly tried it in order to write about it. And because I always think I’m suddenly going to like caramel. And more full disclosure, my husband is a fan of caramel and ate most of it (and agrees Tony’s is some of the best tasting chocolate he’s had in a long time.)

My personal opinion is caramel is too sweet. However, if you like caramel, Tony’s milk chocolate with caramel is a nice combination of the two since the caramel doesn’t overpower the milk chocolate.

Both milk chocolate and caramel go well balancing out extra sharp cheddar – that intense bite of cheese adds more depth to the sweet combo of chocolate and caramel.

Milk Chocolate, Caramel, & Almonds with Sea Salt and Vermont Sharp

Tony’s milk chocolate, caramel, almond, and sea salt is paired with Cabot’s Vermont sharp cheddar. Bringing together multiple taste sensations – sweet, creamy, rich, nutty, crunchy, salty, sharp, and cheesy – this combination hits all the check marks of a good dessert, reminiscent of a turtle cheesecake. Your taste buds just might explode with this all-in-one combination by just taking a bite of cheese and chocolate.

Tell me more…

If you’re interested in learning more about pairing chocolate and cheese together, please check out some of the absolute best cheese and chocolate pairings for some other favorite combinations.

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