Valençay cheese
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 200-250g and is around 7cm 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 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. The cheese matures for 3 weeks during which time its characteristic external mould forms and the central paste - initially crumbly - softens.
The cheese is available between March and December, with peak manufacture between April and August.
One 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.
Berry has been the home to many cheeses for centuries, and has produced Selles-sur-Cher cheese, Crottin de Chavignol cheese and Pouligny-Saint-Pierre cheese among others.
The cheese achieved AOC status in 1998 making Valençay the first region to achieve AOC status for both its cheese and its wine. It also has the European AOP seal.
Calories in different varieties and various types of cheeses
The number of calories in various types of cheese is very similar when you compare your cheese to a similar types of cheese.
For example, almost cheeses that are similar to Cheddar cheese have around 400 calories per 100g
If the Valençay cheese is not listed below, select a similar type of cheese from the list below to get a rough idea for the number of calories in Valençay cheese.
The calorie lists are sortable by clicking the up and down arrows in the heading columns
| Cheese type | Calories per 100g |
|---|---|
| American cheese | 371 |
| Blue cheese | 353 |
| Camembert cheese | 299 |
| Cheddar cheese | 402 |
| Cottage cheese | 98 |
| Edam cheese | 357 |
| Farmer's cheese | 98 |
| Feta cheese | 264 |
| Fontina cheese | 389 |
| Goat cheese | 364 |
| Gouda cheese | 356 |
| Gruyere cheese | 413 |
| Mozzarella cheese | 280 |
| Parmesan cheese | 431 |
| Pimento cheese | 375 |
| Provolone cheese | 352 |
| Queso blanco cheese | 310 |
| Ricotta cheese | 174 |
| Roquefort cheese | 369 |
| Swiss cheese | 380 |
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Errors and omissions
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