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AOC — PDO — Burgundy
Golden-yellow in the sun, smooth and sweet: Beurre de Bresse is the pure expression of 150 days of grazing in Ain.
Dairy product or egg from Burgundy, PDO (AOP) since 2014.
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Between the wars, dairy production developed in Bresse (Ain); gradually taking over from farmhouse workshops, the first butter cooperatives emerged in the early 1930s. Following more than ten years of efforts by the Syndicat de Promotion de la Crème et du Beurre de Bresse (SPC2B), the INAO approved the Crème de Bresse and Beurre de Bresse AOCs in 2012: the two homologation decrees, No. 2012-756 for Beurre and No. 2012-825 for Crème, were published on the same day in the Journal officiel, on 26 June 2012. In 2014, Beurre and Crème de Bresse became European Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), crowning the thousand-year encounter between soil, climate, animal and humankind.
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Bresse, a natural region spanning 191 communes across Ain, Jura and Saône-et-Loire, is a gently rolling bocage plain with clay soils, enjoying a dense water network and steady rainfall. The herd, composed of at least 50% Montbéliarde cows, grazes for a minimum of 150 days a year, with a minimum of 60 ares of grass per cow. The cows are fed on a forage system combining grazed grass and non-irrigated maize grown in Bresse for over 400 years, a mixed diet that gives the milk its large fat globules and aromatic richness.
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The two main processing dairies for Beurre de Bresse PDO are the Laiterie d'Étrez-Foissiat and the Laiterie de Bresse (La Bressane). In 2022, the PDO had 69 participating livestock farms — 60 supplying Étrez-Foissiat, 10 the Laiterie de Bresse, the remainder via Sodiaal — and the sector had produced 531 tonnes of butter in 2021, with production tripling since 2013. A highly localised know-how, upheld by small Bresse dairies, perpetuates this traditional production.
Appearance
Deep yellow colour, paler in winter. Slightly granular appearance, marked by very fine droplets of water and microporosities typical of traditional churning.
Aroma
Notes of whey, floral, or slightly sweet.
Taste
Milky notes, freshness on the palate and nuts (hazelnut and walnut), good persistence on the palate. Unsalted butter (non-salted).
Texture
Supple and airy, easy to spread, remarkable melt-in-the-mouth quality, exceptional stability when cooked.
The matured cream is churned in a conical or biconical churn (5,000 litres maximum); continuous churning is prohibited.
Shaped and packaged in sales weight units not exceeding 25 kg.
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Beurre de Bresse is enjoyed plain, spread on bread in the morning. Its exceptional stability when cooked makes it a choice ingredient in classic dishes of Bresse gastronomy: frogs' legs in butter, poultry wishbones in butter, galettes and tartes bressanes. Wine pairing (editorial choice): Bourgogne blanc (Chardonnay), Champagne.
Since: 2012
Area covered: Ain, Jura, Saône-et-Loire (191 communes)
Key requirements: Biological maturation of the cream, traditional churn, 150+ days of grazing, ≥ 50% Montbéliarde cows
Since: 2014
Area covered: Ain, Jura, Saône-et-Loire (191 communes)
Key requirements: Same specifications, European recognition
Defence and management organisation
Dairy cooperative
Dairy cooperative
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La Bressane presents itself as a dairy rooted in Bresse, in Varennes-Saint-Sauveur (Saône-et-Loire), operating for over 80 years and championing traditional know-how and methods. It states that it crafts its products from high-quality milk sourced from local farms, with a range focused on faisselles, whisked fromage blanc, fresh cheeses, and crème de Bresse PDO (AOP).
It notes that its products are sold in the chilled aisle, at the dairy's own shop, and in stores, aiming to be easy to find across Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Ain, and more widely throughout Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
| Address | 60 La Charmette, 71480 Varennes-Saint-Sauveur, France |
| +33 3 85 76 33 50 | |
| magasindevente@laiteriedebresse.fr | |
| labressane.fr | |
| Facebook page | |
| @la_bressane | |
| Visits | Yes — shop open Wednesday and Thursday 9:30–12:30 / 15:00–18:30, Friday 10:00–13:30 / 15:00–18:30, Saturday 9:00–13:00 |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2010. |
