Banon

Banon is a soft cheese made from raw, whole goat's milk, produced by rapid curdling with rennet. After maturing, each cheese is entirely wrapped in natural brown chestnut leaves and tied with six to twelve strands of natural raffia in a radial pattern. Milk production, cheesemaking, and maturation must all take place within the defined geographical area in south-eastern France.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-FR-0290, with EU protection dating from 7 May 2003 and eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013629, Banon is produced exclusively within a defined area spanning municipalities in the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Vaucluse, and Drôme. The specification requires raw, whole goat's milk and production by rapid curdling using rennet. After a minimum maturation period of 15 days, of which at least 10 days must be spent in its chestnut-leaf wrapping, the finished cheese is smooth, creamy, velvety, and soft, with a creamy-yellow or golden-brown rind beneath the leaves. With leaves, the cheese measures 75 to 85 mm in diameter and 20 to 30 mm in height; net weight without leaves after maturation is 90 to 110 grams. The cheese must contain a minimum of 40 grams of dry matter per 100 grams of cheese and 40 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese when completely dry. Goats must graze within the geographical area for at least 210 days per year, and silage, wrapped fodder, and cruciferous fodder are prohibited. Each cheese must carry an individual label displaying the designation of origin in characters at least as large as any other characters on the label, and the EU PDO symbol must appear in the labelling. The applicant group is the Syndicat Interprofessionnel de Défense et de Promotion du Banon, based in Manosque.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 7 May 2003 under file number PDO-FR-0290 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013629).
• Each matured cheese is wrapped in natural brown chestnut leaves tied with six to twelve strands of natural raffia forming a radial pattern.
• The minimum maturation period is 15 days, of which at least 10 days must be spent in the leaf wrapping.
• Silage, wrapped fodder, and cruciferous fodder are prohibited in the feed of milk-producing goats; transgenic crops are also prohibited on all farms supplying milk for Banon.

Tasting notes

Provençal goat's milk soft cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia, aged 15+ days. Ivory paste, soft creamy melting texture, intensely aromatic with goat-milk tang, chestnut-leaf vegetal note, and characteristic eau-de-vie-mouillée hint (some affineurs douse in marc).

HoReCa use

Plateau de fromages centerpiece; spread on warm baguette toasts; component of Provençal apéritif boards; paired with rosé de Provence and Bandol.

Packaging

• single-wheel-90-100g
• gift-pack-twin-200g

Seasonality