Coeur de Neufchatel / 200g / Cow/Raw/Animal Rennet / Soft white bloom / Normandie / 24% fat /Light mould smell and savoury and salty taste.
 
The "Boutonnière du Pays de Bray" designates, in Haute-Normandie, a narrow plain carved in limestone. Its position, well sheltered from the winds, and its rather constant cool and humid climate are particularly favorable for grazing. It's there by Neufchâtel-En-Bray that our cheese is made using traditional methods.
 
We find the first traces of manufacture of our cheese from 1037.
It is fair to say it quickly built up a head of steam as a few years later, a tax
"la dîme des frometons" perceived on the peasants of the valley of Bray engaged in the trade of their cheeses, was confered on the local Abbey of Sigy. 
 Legend has it that during the Hundred Years War, young Normandie women offered English soldiers heart shaped cheeses to show their love. I wouldn't put it past a French woman or man for that matter to do such thing now, that is a grand romantic gesture! What is certain is that by the XVIth century,  Neufchatel had become, under its various guises, very famous; pretty soon it was exported to England! 
 
Neufchâtel is usually appreciated at the end of meals.
Cooking brings out the aromas of this cheese. It behaves very much like its colleague the Camembert au lait cru when melted. It does lend itself well to making sauces. 
 
It is best accompanied by fruity reds, such as Côtes-du-Rhône or Beaujolais, or even a chilled cider.