When you think of chocolate and fruit, chocolate-covered strawberries are probably the very first thing that come to mind. It's hard not to love the treat, whether you splurge at the Godiva store at the mall or you make them yourself for someone you love. That's really just the beginning when it comes to enjoying chocolate and fruit together, though.
Whether you're simply eating fresh fruit with a bar of chocolate or baking something that combines the two, there are countless ways to experiment. Just like wine and cheese, certain types of chocolate go better with certain kinds of fruit. Here's the rundown.
1. Dark chocolate + sweet fruit
Dark chocolate is the most bitter of the bunch, which means it matches well to fruit that is extra sweet. Great examples are banana, mango, figs, pears and, of course, strawberries. That punch of sweetness will balance the bitterness and leave you with a harmonious bite.
2. Milk chocolate + a variety of fruit
Milk chocolate falls right in the middle of the sweetness spectrum when you're talking about types of chocolate, which means it can pretty much go with most kinds of fruit, regardless of how sweet or tart they are. So, fruit like cherries, apples and even kiwi, which can be both sweet and tart, are great matches with milk chocolate.
3. White chocolate + tart fruit
While white chocolate technically isn't real chocolate, it's worth mentioning because it's just as great of a counterpart to fruit. Since it's the sweetest, it benefits from a bit of tang for balance. So, oranges, grapefruit and tart berries like raspberries and blackberries pair nicely with white chocolate.
(Sheela Prakash is senior contributing food editor for TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)
This article is written by Sheela Prakash from The Kitchn and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
