Welcome to Smart Substitutions! This is where we introduce a small change that you can make in your daily cooking habits to create foods that are delicious and a little bit healthier. This month’s feature substitution: Neufchatel Cheese!
What:
Neufchatel cheese is a smooth, creamy, spreadable cheese, originally from the Neufchal-en-Bray region of France. When it came over the America in the late 1800’s, we added in some heavy cream to create the first version of cream cheese. Although cream cheese has evolved into being more milk and cream and less cheese, this version of American Neufchatel cheese (also known as Farmer’s Cheese) still exists.
Where:
Although a few years ago neufchatel cheese may have been available at specialty stores, it’s currently available at most large supermarkets, in the dairy aisle. In fact, many brands of cream cheese also make a version of neufchatel cheese, including: Philadelphia, Lucerne, Organic Valley and Kroger.
Why:
Very similar in taste and texture to our beloved cream cheese, the advantage of Neufchatel cheese is that it is lower in fat. Regular cream cheese has about 10 grams of fat per ounce of cheese, while Neufchatel cheese has only 6. Even better news is that Neufchatel cheese contains 3.6 g of saturated fat per ounce, while regular cream cheese has about 5.5 g per ounce. So to sum up: Neufchatel is all the taste with less fat.
When:
Definitely a great substitute for cream cheese as a spread on bagels, crackers, sandwiches… basically anytime you’d want a smear of cream cheese you can use Neufchatel instead. Probably not the best substitution if you are looking to make a rich, dense cheesecake, but there is a time and place for everything.
Not only is Neufchatel cheese an easy and convenient substitution, it’s also reasonable priced. Many brands of Neufchatel cheese are about the same price as regular cream cheese. Located right next to the regular cream cheese, so it’s easy to find and easy to use.
