Give cheese, not chocolates on Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day there's an abundance of romantic goods on offer. The dairy world is no exception, with a variety of novelty cheeses in stores this month.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there’s an abundance of romantic goods on offer. The dairy world is no exception, with a variety of novelty cheeses in stores this month.

It’s not a new concept, this method of moulding cheese into romantic forms, in fact the first recorded heart-shaped cheese can be dated back to 14th Century France; more specifically the Hundred Years’ War of 1337-1453.

Legend has it, the young maidens of Neufchatel-en-Bray, Upper Normandy, wooed the English soldiers they’d taken a liking too during the lengthy invasion, by presenting them with a hand-crafted, edible token of their admiration, the Coeur de Neufchatel.

The divine taste won the men over, and the shape of the heart, said to have reminded them of angel wings, brought them the hope they craved during that desperate time.

Coeur de Neufchatel

The region still produces and exports the Coeur de Neufchatel, with the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in place since 1977, ensuring the production adheres to the same historically stringent process.

Paxton & Whitfield is one of the retailers tapping in to the St Valentine’s Day market, selecting the artisan Coeur de Neufchatel to sell in its three stores (London, Stratford upon Avon and Bath) and online for the duration of February.

At £5.25, it’s seems pricey for a 200g portion, but after making my way through a gluttonous amount of it, I can assure you it’s worth every penny. It’s a young cheese, made using unpasteurised cows milk, with a fresh smell and mild mushroomy taste not dissimilar to Camembert, though much tastier.

Though I can’t vouch for them personally, here are some of the other promising-looking Valentine’s Day offerings on the market this month:

Heart-shaped cheddar

Pilgrims Choice has launched two 150g limited edition versions of their Extra Mature Cheddar and Wensleydale with Cranberry, both priced at £1.49 and enveloped in a ruby red wax coating.

Heart-shaped goats cheese

On the other end of the scale is the Cheese Shed’s Two Hearts gift parcel (£25.50). This beautifully packaged ‘Posh Box’ contains a 200g White Heart: a sweet, creamy goat cheese from Somerset-based White Lake Cheeses, and a 400g waxed Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar, sat on a bed of straw.

Heart-shaped yarg

At a hefty 800g, the heart-shaped Cornish Yarg (£25.95) from Truro’s Lynher Dairies is one for the dinner party cheeseboard.

There’s a six-week delivery wait as they’re made to order, which although too late to present to your Valentine, perhaps one to get in time for the next big romantic event of the year, a certain high-profile wedding.

Win a heart-shaped cheeseboard and Coeur de Neufchatel cheese

Enter this exclusive competition for lovefood.com readers to win a unique Valentine’s gift set of a delicious Coeur de Neufchatel cheese and a hand-crafted, heart-shaped slate cheeseboard to help serve it on. Enter the competition now - you can use your existing log-in to lovemoney.com.

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