Cheeses of Victoriaville and the Bois-Francs
Dairy country in central Quebec where fresh, squeaky cheese curds are sold daily and poutine is said to have been born.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: June to September; sugar shacks open in March and April.
Victoriaville and the nearby towns of the Centre-du-Québec region are the heart of Quebec's dairy country. This is where fresh cheese curds, fromage en grains, are eaten by the bag, still squeaky from the vat. It is also the area that claims poutine, the dish of fries, curds and gravy: Victoriaville, Warwick and Drummondville all tell versions of its origin in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Squeaky curds
Cheese curds are the young pieces of cheddar curd before they are pressed into blocks. Eaten the day they are made, they squeak against the teeth because their protein strands are still springy. Many local fromageries sell curds fresh every day, plain or flavoured. For poutine, the curds must be fresh enough to soften but not melt under hot gravy.
The Bois-Francs
The Bois-Francs region around Victoriaville is rolling farmland with maple woods, villages and small cheese makers. Quebec has a large cheese industry, with many cheeses made from raw and pasteurised milk, and some local makers age cheddar and washed-rind cheeses as well. Summer festivals in the region celebrate poutine and local food.
A trail idea for Victoriaville and the Bois-Francs
- A local fromagerie Buy curds still warm from the morning's make.
- Warwick One of the towns that claims the first poutine.
- Drummondville A town with its own poutine story and festival.
- Maple woods Visit a sugar shack in early spring.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Victoriaville" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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