A white, bloomy rind hides a firm but smooth paste with a lactic flavour.

This cheese originates in the town of Neufchâtel in the rich dairy country of the Pays de Bray, Normandie. It dates back to AD1035 when Hugues I of Gournay, a town close to Neufchâtel, donated it (as a tithe) to the Abbey of Sigy. Small cheese gifts such as this were called 'fometons'. The cheese became popular with Parisians who read about it in the famous food guide of the time, Almanach des Gourmands 1803-1812. Since Neufchâatel is only 132km from Paris the transporting of the cheese was not a problem and its popularity increased.

The process of making Neufchâtel is particularly laborious. The coagulation of the milk is long - around 36 hours. The curds obtained are not cut, as occurs with most cheeses; they are directly poured into cheese-cloths and left there for 12 hours. This gives the cheese its special granulous texture. Pieces of mature, blooming Neufchâtel are added to the curd. Afterwards the fresh cheese can be moulded and salted. They stay one night in drying rooms and are then placed in cellars for a first curing period of 10 days, until they have a white bloomy rind. Maturation then goes on for a further ten days. The cheese is often matured beyond three weeks and the flavour becomes more pronounced and salty and the rind shows traces of red-brown pigmentation. Neufchâtel gained its AOC in 1977.

Neufchâtel is produced in six different shapes - the coeur (heart-shaped), grand-coeur (large heart-shaped) , the carré (square-shaped), briquette (a small brick shape), bonde (a small cylinder) and double bonde (a large cylinder-shape). The majority of Neufchâtel is produced in industrial creameries but at the Teddington Cheese we stock the rare, unpasteurised, farm-made Couer de Neufchâtel which is 10cm wide, 8.5cm long, 3.2cm high, weigh 200g and has a fat content of 45%. The cheeses are made using unpasteurised milk with the very best cheeses are produced from summer to winter, although the quality is high throughout the year.

Neufchâtel can be enjoyed with medium-bodied red wines. The cheese goes well with crusty bread.