Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Lockdown with NEW Gifts from Paxton & Whitfield

Paxton & Whitfield, the UK’s oldest cheesemonger, has some great cheese gifts to celebrate Valentine’s Day in lockdown this year. Cheese lovers can choose from the NEW Valentine’s Cheese Collection or the Cheese for Fizz selection, both perfect to enjoy with some bubbles. Plus, more Valentine’s cheese selections are due to be announced shortly.  

All the items are available online at paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk.

• NEW Valentine’s Cheese Collection(£25.00) – A delightful selection of heart-shaped cheeses with the perfect accompaniments. It contains a Coeur de Neufchâtel PDO* (200g), a Coeur de Pic (120g), a jar of White Fig Confit (120g), a pack of Charcoal Crackers (90g) and a white, ceramic heart shaped dish.

The cheeses: 

• Coeur de Neufchâtel PDO* (unpasteurised cow’s milk, traditional rennet)  – Hand-picked for its unique flavour and superb quality, this heart shaped delicious artisan cheese dates back over 1,000 years to 1035 when Hugues I of Gournay gave it to the Abbey of Sigy as a tithe. During the Hundred Years War, legend tells that local girls from Neufchâtel-en-Bray offered the cheese to English soldiers, who thought that the cheese tasted like heaven and that the bloomy white cheeses, shaped like a heart, were angel wings. This makes it the perfect cheese for romantics to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. This smooth, creamy artisan cheese is made from unpasteurised cow’s milk, in upper Normandy, France, and takes its name from the town where it is made, Neufchâtel. Similar to Camembert in texture and taste, it has a richer flavour with a hint of mushrooms and a soft white velvety rind. It is the oldest cheese to be made in Normandy and since 1977 it has been a protected cheese, being given the Protected Designated Origin (PDO) status.

• Coeur de Pic (unpasteurised, traditional rennet) – This heart shaped goat’s cheese is bought slightly matured rather than fresh. This allows the rind on the cheese to develop, maturing the cheese from the outside.  As the cheese ripens, the flavour changes from milky with hints of citrus to creamy and full flavoured.  Le Pic cheese is produced by Le Pic Fromagerie, a family run traditional business set up in the Tarn Valley by a couple over 25 years ago. Over the years, the couple’s sons have become interested in the family business and are now both fully involved. Le Pic collect milk daily from six goat producers in the vicinity, all of whose goats graze on the local undergrowth and scrub and have the rich, healthy and varied diet which ensure the best quality of milk.

• SOMETHING SPECIAL Cheese for Fizz (£36.00/serves 4 to 6) – Four artisan cheeses, specially selected for a Valentine’s celebration to enjoy with Champagne or other traditionally made sparkling wines. Keep it simple and enjoy this artisan cheese selection with a glass (or two!) of bubbles. This cheeseboard selection contains: Berkswell (250g), Langres PDO* (180g), Golden Cross (225g) and Cheshire Appleby (250g).

* PDO – Protected Designation of Origin, for products that are produced, processed and prepared within a particular geographical area, and with features and characteristics that must be due to that area.