Author Topic: Valençay  (Read 2137 times)

cmharris6002

  • Guest
Valençay
« on: January 24, 2013, 05:55:38 PM »


From the Loire Valley of France comes this  romantic little ash coated cheese. A mold ripened classic, Valencay was traditionally made with raw goat milk. It develops a smooth creamy interior that starts off lemony but becomes quite strong as it matures. We prefer to eat it young.

Valencay is known for it's pyramid shape. According to legend, Napoleon was visiting Chateau de Valençay on his way back from campaigning in Egypt sometime after he lost the Battle of the Nile. When this cheese, shaped like a pyramid was served at dinner, Napoleon reportedly took his sword and chopped off the top of the pyramid. This beautiful little cheese deserves a special place in your cheese repertoire. It is easy to make but looks so fancy that it is sure impress any where it is served.

Valencay

1 Gallon Fresh Goat Milk

¼ tsp mesophilic culture MM100

Pinch p. candidum

Pinch geo. candidum

3 drops rennet

1 tbsp kosher salt

Sterilize everything with hot bleach water

Warm 1 gallon of goat milk in water bath to 72F

Add MM100 and both molds, mix into the milk

Dilute 3 drops rennet in ¼ cup of cool water add incorporate into the milk

Allow curd to set 24hrs

Fill pyramid molds, allow curd to drain and top off the molds with more curd until the molds are full. Place molds on a cheese mat in a plastic draining/ripening box. allow curd to drain for 48hrs at room temp. Remove whey as needed.

Clean the draining/ripening box. Carefully remove the cheeses from the molds and set them on a paper towel. Using a small sieve dust the cheese with ash. Lightly dust all surfaces until there is no white showing.

Place cheeses on a cheese mat in a clean dry ripening box with lid. Ripen at 50F. Remove whey as needed. After a week or two they will be covered with a blanket of white mold. At this point they are ready to eat or they can be wrapped in cheese wrapping paper and aged up to eight weeks or as desired.

hoeklijn

  • Guest
Re: Valençay
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2013, 08:40:02 AM »
Hi Christy, is the picture one you made before? It's a nice looking one! Have you more specifications about the PC you're using? Tiarella and I had discussions about how to prevent slipping skin which we both had more or less...

Offline Tiarella

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Chester, MA, US
  • Posts: 1,748
  • Cheeses: 81
  • Default personal text
    • Farm Blog
Re: Valençay
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2013, 01:10:33 PM »
Hi Christy,  I put a comment on your blog before I saw that you posted here too.  Your recipe doesn't mention what to do with the salt.  Maybe you forgot to add about mixing it with the ash?  or did I read too quickly and blip past it?  Nice looking cheese.   ;D

Herman,  my batch with the PC added later was rather a failure.....the wild blue molds/yeasts got in with not enough PC to keep them at bay.  The chickens ate well.   :D.   But my pink Brie is doing well and may be ready before Saint Valentine's day.

cmharris6002

  • Guest
Re: Valençay
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2013, 01:55:36 PM »
Yes, this is the same pic, it's one of my favorite cheese pics :) The p. candidum I'm using is SAM3

Thanks for letting me know I forgot the instructions for the salt! I don't mix it with the ash I directly salt all sides of the cheese just prior to adding the ash.