🧀 Valençay

Valençay is a French soft goat's cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made from raw whole goat's milk in the Berry, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It is a truncated pyramid with a square base and an ash-grey rind covered with fine mould, and it is especially prized in spring for its lightness and freshness. ¹⁵

Goats in Berry go back to Charlemagne. The specification cites goats in Berry in Charlemagne's capitularies and in 16th-century archives of La Châtre, and from Talleyrand, lord of the Valençay château, to the First Empire and George Sand, writers praised this farm cheese made for local eating. Talleyrand is credited with the truncated mould and with bringing the cheese to aristocratic tables in Paris, but it became popular in shops only in the 20th century. ⁴

A legend explains the cut-off tip. INAO retells the story that Talleyrand, hosting Napoleon at Valençay, ordered the cooks to cut the tip off every pyramid so as not to remind the emperor of his failed Egyptian campaign. ⁵ The specification is more cautious and simply attributes the shape to a local historical figure. ⁴

Protected since 1998. Valençay has been an appellation since 1998, and its EU protection dates from 30 October 1998. ¹⁵ The name was entered in the register by Regulation 1437/2004, and an amendment to its single document was published in 2013. ²³ The current specification has applied since 2014. ⁴

The Bas-Berry suits goats and lucerne. The area covers four farming districts: Boischaut Nord, the historic core, Champagne Berrichonne, Brenne and Boischaut Sud. Soils are silty or clay-limestone, and rainfall is 650–750 mm a year, frequent in April–June and scarce in summer, which suits grasses and legumes, especially lucerne hay, the basis of the goats' diet. ⁴ Much of the area lies in the Brenne Regional Nature Park. ⁵

Alpine and Saanen goats on local fodder. Only Alpine and Saanen goats or their crosses are allowed. Each goat must get at least 820 kg of dry matter a year from the area, including at least 655 kg of roughage, with at most 275 kg from outside and 440 kg of concentrates. Silage is banned, and stocking is limited to 12 goats per hectare of forage. ⁴

A slow curd and gentle draining. Raw whole milk from no more than the last four milkings, or two on farms, is ripened with whey or starter and gets at most 8 ml of rennet per 100 litres. It curdles for at least 18 hours below 25 °C, and freezing the curd is banned. The curd is ladled straight into pyramid moulds and drains on its own, without pressing, for at least 20 hours. ⁴

Salt and charcoal before ripening. After unmoulding, every face is salted and dusted with vegetable charcoal, a mixture that helps the cheese keep longer. ⁴⁵ It ripens at 10 °C or more and may be sold only from the 11th day after renneting, once its rind is covered with visible mould; a large cheese has a 50–55 mm base, a small one 40–44 mm. The paste is smooth, firm yet supple, with goaty, undergrowth, mushroom and floral notes, and INAO also notes hazelnut. ⁴⁵ In 2024, 300 tonnes were sold, the same as in 2023 and 20% less than in 2014, while farmhouse cheese fell to 50 tonnes. ⁶

Valençay or another French goat’s cheese? What sets it apart is the specification: raw whole goat’s milk from Alpine and Saanen goats, no silage, a slow curd set for at least 18 hours and ladled straight into the moulds, where it drains for at least 20 hours without pressing. Every face is then salted and dusted with vegetable charcoal, and the cheese is sold from the 11th day. Its shape, a truncated pyramid with a square base, is the quick sign; it is especially prized in spring for its lightness and freshness.

Look for the name Valençay in letters at least 1.3 times the size of the largest others on the label, the words “Appellation d’Origine Protégée” and the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin). The truncated pyramid with an ash-grey rind and fine mould is the main sign. “Petit” marks the small mould and cannot sit next to the name. You will find it at a supermarket cheese counter, a delicatessen or a cheesemonger.

Why it matters to you. Each Valençay has its own label with the name in letters at least 1.3 times the size of the largest, the words "Appellation d'Origine Protégée" and the EU PDO symbol. Cheese from small moulds is labelled "petit", but that word may not stand next to or right above the name, and storing fresh or ripening cheese in a modified atmosphere is banned. ⁴