A soft bloomy-rind cheese of the Pays de Bray in Normandy, traditionally shaped as a heart, and one of the oldest named French cheeses, with a documented lineage reaching to the sixth century. AOC granted in 1969.
Neufchatel is a soft bloomy-rind cheese from the Pays de Bray in Normandy, around Neufchatel-en-Bray. Wikipedia documents it as one of the oldest named French cheeses, with a lineage reaching to the sixth century. It received its AOC in 1969. The cheese is sold in six traditional shapes, the most famous being the heart, which legend dates to the Hundred Years War, when young Norman women offered heart-shaped Neufchatel to English soldiers.
A heart-shaped Neufchatel is firm when young, softening to a creamy, yielding paste beneath a downy white bloomy rind. The flavor is delicate, lactic, and slightly salty; as it ages, the paste softens further and the flavor deepens.
Neufchatel is a soft lactic-set bloomy-rind cheese. The curd is ladled into molds — heart-shaped or one of the five other traditional forms — and drained naturally. During affinage the surface is colonized by white Penicillium candidum mold, forming the downy bloomy rind; the mold's enzymes ripen the paste from the outside in through proteolysis.
Variations
Sold in six traditional shapes — the heart being the most iconic.
On the Palate
Where Neufchatel sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
6 steps · 35 min
- 115 min
Warm raw cow's milk and add lactic starter; let acidify.
- 215 min
Add a small amount of rennet and let the curd set gently.
Watch outAdd only a small amount of rennet and let the curd set gently — this is a soft lactic cheese, so keep the set delicate and tender; too much rennet firms it into a rubbery block.
- 330 min
Ladle the curd into molds — heart-shaped or another traditional form — and drain naturally.
- 415 min
Demold, salt the surfaces, and inoculate with Penicillium candidum.
- 530 min
Age in a humid cellar for about ten days to two weeks.
Watch outAge in a humid cellar about ten days to two weeks till the rind turns white and downy — that even white bloom is the sign the Penicillium has ripened it properly.
- 65 min
Release when the rind is white and bloomy.
