Distinctive in its truncated pyramidal shape, Valençay is an unpasteurised goat-milk cheese weighing 200–250 grams (7.1–8.8 oz) and around 7 cm (2.8 in) in height.

Its rustic blue-grey colour is made by the natural moulds that form its rind, then darkened with a dusting of charcoal.

[1] The historic province of Berry has been the home to many cheeses over the centuries, and produces Selles-sur-Cher, Crottin de Chavignol and Pouligny-Saint-Pierre amongst others.

One apocryphal tale has it that Napoleon, having returned from his disastrous campaigns in Egypt, stopped at the castle at Valençay.

The local pyramidal cheese apparently aroused unpleasant memories as he allegedly then cut the top off in fury with his sword, leaving the shape that survives to the present day.