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| Neufchâtel Coeur de Bray |
Given the abundance of
cheese France produces, I’ve decided to tackle the subject once a month in a
series of posts that bring some of the lesser known cheeses, (at least outside
the France borders) into focus. Some
cheeses have a complicated history which I try to boil down to what makes them
unique and notable, and others simply developed from “farm cheeses” made to be
consumed where they were produced.
Either way, “Cheese” gives me a chance to explore one of the gastronomic
delights of France and justify my excursions to a cheese monger as
“research”. And the research can be oh, so
grueling…
Neufchâtel, a French cheese from Upper Normandy, is made
from unpasteurized cows’ milk. It is a
soft cheese, and is in the same family as a Camembert or Brie. Its taste falls somewhere between the two,
not overly sharp nor sweet and mild.
According to legend, during the 30 year war (1618-1648), young French
girls would show their attraction to English soldiers by giving them cheese in
the shape of a heart. Nowadays, the
heart shaped cheese is called “Neufchâtel Coeur de Bray”, and the cheese itself
is fabricated in other forms and sizes.
The French Neufchâtel should not be confused with the
American counterpart, which was created in the late 1800’s by a New York dairy
farmer. His attempts to recreate the
French cheese failed, but what he had instead was a low fat version of cheese
cream now sold in supermarkets.
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