The Season's Cheeses Board by Jake Cohen
An expertly curated holiday spread
Valencay
- Pasteurized
- Animal Rennet
- Age: 3-5 Weeks
- Goat Milk
- by Murray's Cheese
- France
- ApproachableAdventurous
- SoftHard
With a distinct, truncated-pyramid shape, our cave-aged Valençay cheese is defined by its dense, minerally paste encased in a thin, bloomy white rind. Legend has it that this cheese got its unique shape after Napoleon demanded the pointed tops be removed after his military failings in Egypt. Today, it arrives fresh from the Loire Valley, made from pasteurized goat’s milk, before its coated in a layer of salted charcoal ash and aged by Murray’s affineurs. Slice up and serve on an Effie’s Homemade Oatcake with a dollop of Black Cherry Confit for a sweet, savory bite.
“This classic wrinkly pyramid is a serious eye-catcher, making it perfect for adding a touch of luxe texture to your next cheese board. It's creamy, lactic, and super velvety, which means that it's a natural pairing for bright fruit jams, honey, and sparkling wine. Serve up a wedge of Valençay on a rustic Raincoast crisp cracker with a rich Amarena cherry and drizzle of cherry syrup.”
Pasteurized Goat's Milk, Animal Rennet, Lactic Starters, Salt, Food Coloring: Black Carbon
Allergens: Milk
- Valençay is a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese that comes from the Loire Valley in France.
- The temperate climate of the Loire Valley, often called “the garden of France,” provides excellent conditions for cheesemaking.
- The cheese is traditionally made by hand-ladling then draining the curds into a truncated pyramid-shaped mold, and then covering in a coating of salted charcoal ash once set.
- The cheeses arrives fresh to Murray’s Caves.
- Though some wheels do arrive ashed, our caves team prefers to ash the unripened wheels themselves to better control the process and create a more consistent cheese.
- The cheese is placed in a chilled, dry cave with about 80% humidity to encourage the growth of its white, penicillium candidum bloomy mold.
- The cheese earned AOC (“Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée” or “controlled designation of origin”) designation in 1998.
- How Valençay got its unique shape is up for debate.
- Legend has it that when Napoleon was returning from an unsuccessful military campaign in Egypt, he stopped in the Castle of Valençay. When he saw the pyramid-shaped cheese, he withdrew his sword and sliced of the top of the cheese, declaring he would not see pyramids in France
- Local cheesemakers, however, say the cheese was modeled after the church steeples in their community.
- At Murray’s, we are cheese experts and enthusiasts who make, source, sell, and serve exceptional cheese and specialty foods nationwide.
- The Murray’s Cheese branded product line comprises deliciously distinct, time-honored products made with the finest ingredients by passionate producers across the globe.
- These products have been hand-selected by our trusted cheesemongers, who travel the world to taste countless items in search of flavors that are exceptional enough to be included in our branded product line.
- We build strong relationships with our talented production partners. They trust our team to handle the extraordinary goods they’ve worked hard to perfect, as we bring them to households across the country.
- Whether you’re looking for Gruyère from Switzerland, Brie from France, or Prosciutto di Parma from Italy, with a Murray’s branded product, you’ll receive our favorite version of a traditional product at an incredible value.
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