Neufchâtel (, ;

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

: ''Neu(f)câtel'') is a soft, slightly crumbly,

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...

-ripened, bloomy-rind

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During product ...

made in the

Neufchâtel-en-Bray Neufchâtel-en-Bray (; Norman: ''Neucâtel-en-Bray, Le Câtel'') is a commune situated in the Seine-Maritime department of the Normandy Region, northern France. The Neufchâtel cheese is made in the area. Geography Location Neufchâtel is a ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, its production is believed to date back as far as the 6th century AD, in the

Kingdom of the Franks Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks duri ...

. It looks similar to

Camembert Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit wit ...

and

Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern '' département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white ...

, with a dry, white, edible

rind Rind may refer to: Food *Peel (fruit), or outer covering of any vegetable *Pork rind *The outer layer of cheese *Candied rind; see Succade *Grated rind; see Zest (ingredient) Other uses *Rind (Baloch tribe), a tribe in Pakistan *Rind (giantess), ...

, but the taste is saltier and sharper. Unlike other soft-white-rinded cheeses, Neufchâtel has a grainy texture. It is usually sold in heart shapes but is also produced in other forms, such as logs and boxes. It is typically matured for 8–10 weeks and weighs around . This AOC product should not be confused with the American version of the cheese, which is a factory manufactured lower fat, higher moisture content, unaged alternative to American

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defi ...

History

Neufchâtel is the oldest of the Norman cheeses, having likely been made as early as the 6th century,Christian Janier, ''Le fromage'', Lyon, Stéphane Bachès, 2014, 175 p. (ISBN 978-2-35752-180-3), p. 130. and known to have been made between 1050 to 1543. For the end-of-year festivals during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

, stories say that young girls offered heart-shaped cheeses to English soldiers to show their affection. During the 17th century it was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, and exported to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. In 1880 Isidore Lefebvre, a farmer, constructed a dairy in Nesle-Hodeng, where he could mould and ripen cheese curds made by farmers in the surrounding area. Among Lefebvre's distributors were stores such as

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to oth ...

. A quality label was granted for Neufchâtel from 1949 to 1953. In 1957 the agricultural assembly of the Neufchâtel district created a federation for protecting the quality of the cheese, working to demand an ''

appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

'' (AOC, "controlled designation of origin"). This was put into law May 3rd, 1969, and modified December 29th, 1986. The AOC was reviewed again in 2006 under higher scrutiny, requiring that 65% of a manufacturer's cows be of the

Normande The Normande is a breed of dairy cattle from the Normandy region of north-west France. It is raised principally for its milk, which is high in fat and suitable for making butter and cheese, but also for its meat, which is marbled and good-fla ...

breed. Production of the cheese decreased after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1993 there were 31 farms and one factory producing 45% of all Neufchâtel.

Shapes

There are six different shapes of Neufchâtel: * ''Carré'' (square-shaped), (100 g) * ''Briquette'' (brick-shaped), (100 g) * ''Bondon'' or ''bonde'' (bung or plug-shaped), (100 g) * ''Cœur'' (heart-shaped), (200 g) * ''Double bonde'' (double plug-shaped, twice the weight of a ''bondon''), (200 g) * ''Grand cœur'' or ''gros cœur'' (large heart-shaped, thrice the weight of a ''cœur''), (600 g) File:Neufchâtel fromage au lait cru.jpg, Heart-shaped unpasteurized Neufchâtel in packaging File:Fromage de Neufchâtel laitier.JPG, Cross-section of a very well aged cheese File:Cœur de Neufchâtel grand 03.jpg, Ripened heart-shaped Neufchâtel

American "Neufchâtel"

In 1872, William Lawrence, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

dairyman of the township of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, created the first American

as the result of adding cream to a traditional recipe for Neufchâtel. American "Neufchâtel" is softer than regular cream cheese due to its approximately ~33% lower fat and higher moisture content. Due to this reduced fat content, it is found in most

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, ...

s as a reduced-fat alternative to cream cheese.

References

External links

French cheeses French products with protected designation of origin Cow's-milk cheeses Norman cuisine {{cheese-stub

History

Shapes

American "Neufchâtel"

See also

References

External links