3 things you need to know about chocolate

I love chocolate, and I have developed a taste for gourmet, hand crafted dark chocolate. It is one of those little affordable luxuries that makes life so much sweeter, and never fails to add a little sunshine to a rainy day. In order to fully appreciate those little, delicious treats, I set out to learn more about chocolate. I reached out to Rebecca Snyder, Co-founder at gourmet, bean-to-bar brand Lumineux Chocolate and asked her to share some of the things you need to know about chocolate:

How to eat chocolate?

I suggest that you take small bites. Try to avoid chewing the chocolate, but instead let it melt on your tongue. Then swirl it around so it fills your mouth, for a full experience of the different notes. The cocoa content (that’s the percentage stated on the package), the bean characteristics and the roasting all affect the flavor and the character of the chocolate, and makes chocolate tasting very similar to wine tasting.

How to store chocolate?

Always keep the chocolate in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight. Chocolate does not handle temperature changes well, and going from hot to cold, and vice versa, and you risk a white, dull-looking buildup on the surface. Never store chocolate in the freezer, as the drastic temperature change will ruin the texture. If you don’t have a cool place to store your chocolate, an option is to keep the chocolate in the fridge during the warm summer months. Though remember to take it out from the fridge well in advance before eating it.

How to pair chocolate?

I like pairing chocolate with cheese, and I have found the Orange & Cardamom to work really well with both hard cheese and soft cheese such as fresh goat cheese. The cheese adds a creaminess to the chocolate, that you can’t find otherwise, without adding milk to the chocolate.