Ingredient: Valençay (Goats' cheese)
Category: Dairy- Cheese
Season: March and December
Valençay is a cheese made in the province of Berry in central France.
It's 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 200-250g and around 7cm in height.
It's 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
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.
Manufacture
The curd is drained and placed in a mould.
After being removed it is covered with charcoal dust and left to ripe in a humid, ventilated room.
Affinage lasts for three weeks during which time it's 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 |