Valençay cheese

Valençay
Country of origin	France
Region, town	Berry,
Source of milk	Goats
Pasteurised	No
Texture	Soft cheese with flavoured rind
Aging time	Around 3 weeks
Certification	French AOC 1998
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

Valençay is a cheese made in the province of Berry in central France. Its name is derived from the town of Valençay in the Indre department.

Distinctive in its truncated pyramidal shape, Valençay is an unpasteurised goats-milk cheese weighing 200–250 grams (7.1–8.8 oz) and around 7 cm (2.8 in) in height. Its rustic blue-grey colour is made by the natural moulds that form its rind, darkened with a dusting of charcoal. The young cheese has a fresh, citric taste, with age giving it a nutty taste characteristic of goats cheeses.

The cheese achieved AOC status in 1998 making Valençay the first region to achieve AOC status for both its cheese and its wine.^[1]

History

The province Berry has been the home to many cheeses for centuries, and has produced Selles-sur-Cher, Crottin de Chavignol and Pouligny-Saint-Pierre among others.

One apocryphal tale has it that Napoleon having returned from his disastrous campaigns in Egypt stopped at the castle at Valençay. Their local pyramidal cheese apparently aroused unpleasant memories as he alleged then cut the top off in fury with his sword leaving the shape that survives to the present.^[2]

Manufacture

The curd is drained and placed in a mould. After being removed it is covered with charcoal dust and left to ripen in a humid, ventilated room. Affinage lasts for three weeks during which time its characteristic external mould forms and the central pate - initially crumbly - softens.

The cheese is available between March and December, with peak manufacture between April and August.

References

↑ "Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France". wineterroirs.com.
↑ Masui, Kazuko; Tomoko Yamada (1996). French Cheeses. Dorling Kindersley. p. 84. ISBN 0-7513-0896-X.

www.vins-fromages-valencay.com

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valencay (cheese).

French cheeses

AOC	Abondance Banon Beaufort Bleu d'Auvergne Bleu des Causses Bleu de Gex Bleu du Vercors Brie de Meaux Brie de Melun Brocciu Camembert Cantal Chabichou du Poitou Chaource Chevrotin Comté Coulommiers Crottin de Chavignol Époisses Fourme d'Ambert Fourme de Montbrison Laguiole Langres Livarot Maconnais Maroilles Mont d'Or Morbier Munster Neufchâtel Ossau-Iraty Pélardon Picodon Pont-l'évêque Pouligny-Saint-Pierre Reblochon Rigotte de Condrieu Rocamadour Roquefort Saint-Nectaire Sainte-Maure de Touraine Salers Selles-sur-Cher Valençay

Unprotected varieties	Abbaye de Tamié Bleu de Bresse Brillat-Savarin Brie Cabécou Cancoillotte Carré de l'Est Chaumes Clochette Délice d'Argental Édel de Cléron Etorki Explorateur Gaperon Mont des Cats Mimolette Olivet cendré Port Salut Raclette Rochebaron Saint Agur Blue Saint-Félicien Saint-Marcellin Saint-Paulin Vacherin Vieux-Boulogne

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