MODEL RELEASED. Culturing samples. Doctor rubbing a sample swab over a chocolate agar plate. Chocolate agar is a type of blood agar used to culture and isolate bacteria. Bacteria that can be grown on blood agar include Haemophilia sp., including H. influenzae, which causes meningitis, and Neisseria sp., including N. gonorrhoeae, which causes gonorrhoea. After swabbing, the plate is incubated at an optimum temperature for bacterial growth, and the resulting colonies can then be identified and subjected to tests.