A creamy butter, with a slight taste of salt, due to its proximity to the sea... The reputation of Surgères butter goes well beyond the borders of our region. An essential part of local gastronomy, it is very popular as an aperitif, accompanied by a slice of bread, a dry white wine from the Charentais region and Marennes-Oléron oysters!

local-produced-milkcouleur-pixabay

It is difficult to imagine it today, but the surroundings of Surgères have long been covered with vines. Vineyards and distilleries then made the city prosperous.

Unfortunately, in the 1880s, phylloxera destroyed the vineyards and a conversion to livestock farming quickly took place. In 1888, Mr. Eugène Biraud created the first dairy cooperative in Chaillé, northeast of Surgères, in a former distillery.

Farmers can thus transform their milk into butter and develop its marketing to Paris thanks to the rail link. Surgères butter remains the best-known “Charentes-Poitou” butter!

Where can you find Surgères butter?

You can obviously find it at the Surgères market, which takes place three times a week, but also at the Enilia school store (National School of Dairy Industry and Food Industries) where the butter is made by the students. It is also available in many shops and supermarkets in the region.

The opinion of the local counter

We take advantage of farm visits offered during the summer to discover these delicious products, very local. We feel the joy of the little ones in approaching the farm animals and we enjoy the good products of our region!

Des Moines wood calf
© Studio Thomas Bonnin

Our cheeses and local products

So you will have understood, in Surgères, butter is king. But dairy products of all kinds are grown on farms and should be enjoyed without moderation, especially fresh and tasty cheeses! At the market and from our producers, you can find local goat cheeses, or jonchée, a fresh cow's cheese which owes its name to the streaks left by the rushes with which it is made. It is also possible to find creams, yogurts and other dairy products directly on the farm, such as at the Ferme du Bois des Moines, at the Vache Charentaise or at the La Houlette sheepfold.

Discover the other flagship products