From Farm to Leaf: The Story of Mothais sur Feuille

From Farm to Leaf: The Story of Mothais sur Feuille

Some cheeses tell you something about where they come from before you have even tasted them. Mothais sur Feuille is one of those cheeses. Small, soft and resting on its distinctive chestnut leaf, it is immediately recognisable on the counter at Paxton & Whitfield. But the leaf is much more than a finishing flourish. It forms part of the way the cheese is matured, helping to create the soft texture and distinctive flavour that make Mothais sur Feuille such a special goat’s cheese.

A recent visit to Ferme Georgelet in Villemain, in the Deux-Sèvres department of western France, gave us the opportunity to learn more about how this distinctive cheese is made. The Georgelet family has been making goat’s cheese here for generations, with Delphine Georgelet now continuing the work begun by her father Paul. Although the farm produces a number of cheeses, our particular interest was Mothais sur Feuille, the cheese from Ferme Georgelet that you will find on the Paxton & Whitfield counter.

The story begins, naturally enough, with the goats. The Georgelet herd is made up of Alpine and Saanen goats, two of the principal dairy breeds used for cheesemaking in France. Alpine goats are generally recognisable by their brown coats with darker markings, while Saanens tend to be white or cream. Both are well-established dairy breeds, valued for the quality and consistency of their milk. Under the Mothais sur Feuille AOP specification, Alpine, Saanen and the local Poitevine breed, as well as crosses between them, may provide the milk for the cheese.

Milk is the foundation of any cheese, but it is particularly important in a simple, lactic goat’s cheese such as Mothais, where there is very little to hide behind. The AOP requires fresh, whole, raw goat’s milk, so the character of the milk remains central to the finished cheese. Farming and feeding are therefore considered part of the cheesemaking story rather than something separate from it. The Mothais production area has a long tradition of mixed farming, with local soils well suited to growing cereals and legumes, including protein-rich lucerne hay. At least 85 per cent of the annual feed ration must come from within the geographical area, and silage is prohibited under the AOP rules.

Once the milk reaches the dairy, the transformation is deliberately slow. Mothais sur Feuille is what cheesemakers describe as a lactic cheese. Rather than relying principally on a large dose of rennet to set the milk quickly, acidity develops gradually as the milk ferments. A small quantity of rennet assists the process, but time does most of the work. The milk is inoculated with cultures, traditionally including whey retained from an earlier batch, and allowed to form a delicate curd slowly. This long coagulation helps create the fine, tender texture associated with traditional goat’s cheeses.

Handling that curd gently is crucial. Rather than cutting it into small pieces and stirring it vigorously, as you might when making a hard cheese such as Cheddar or Comté, the soft Mothais curd is transferred carefully into moulds. Under the AOP specification, this is done by hand with a ladle, building up the cheese in three successive passes. Rows of the fresh cheeses sitting in their moulds make the labour involved particularly apparent. Each small cheese may look simple, but maintaining its structure while allowing whey to escape requires patience and a practiced hand.

The cheeses are then left to drain slowly. This is another important part of the character of Mothais sur Feuille. Moisture is not expelled aggressively. Instead, gravity and time allow the whey to leave the curd gradually, preserving more moisture within the cheese. This slow draining encourages the development of yeasts on the surface and contributes to the fine, melting texture that appears as the cheese matures.

After draining and salting, another rather more visible part of the process begins: the chestnut leaf. The leaves used for Mothais sur Feuille are natural chestnut leaves, traditionally gathered in autumn around the first frosts. The cheese is placed onto the leaf for drying and maturation, and over time the leaf becomes impressed into its underside. Far from simply making the cheese look attractive, the leaf helps regulate moisture around it. As the cheese loses and retains moisture during maturation, the leaf creates a particular micro-environment at its surface, contributing to the wonderfully supple texture for which Mothais is known.

This interaction also helps explain why a ripe Mothais sur Feuille looks and feels the way it does. Its rind develops naturally rather than being sealed beneath wax or plastic. It can be wrinkled and ivory-coloured, with small patches of blue, grey or white mould appearing naturally as it matures. Beneath that rind, the paste becomes soft, fine and almost melting. It is a lovely example of why an artisan cheese should not necessarily look perfectly uniform. Those changes on the surface are signs of a living product continuing to develop.

Maturation must continue for a minimum of 12 days after the milk is first set, although the character of the cheese continues to evolve well beyond that point. When young, Mothais is fresh and gently lactic, with the bright acidity associated with good goat’s milk. As it ripens, the texture softens and the flavour becomes fuller. Alongside the lactic and yeasty notes come increasingly savoury aromas, with woodland, fresh straw, mushroom and hazelnut among the flavours that may emerge with age.

For us as cheesemongers, this changing character is part of the pleasure. A Mothais sur Feuille eaten relatively young is a different experience from one allowed to mature further. Neither is necessarily better; much depends on whether you enjoy a fresher, firmer goat’s cheese or something softer and more yielding. It is why conversations across the counter matter. Tell a cheesemonger when you plan to eat a cheese and what textures you enjoy, and we can help you choose one at the right stage of its life.

At home, give Mothais time out of the fridge before serving. As it comes towards room temperature the paste relaxes and both its aroma and texture become much more expressive. We prefer to keep the accompaniments simple. Good crackers or bread are quite enough, although a little honey can be lovely with its gentle acidity. Most importantly, keep the chestnut leaf with the cheese until you are ready to serve it. It has done important work getting Mothais to this point and is very much part of its story.

What makes Mothais sur Feuille so appealing is that its apparent simplicity hides a great deal of care. There are no elaborate additions here, just excellent raw goat’s milk, a delicate curd, slow draining, salt, a chestnut leaf and time. Yet every decision, from the way the goats are fed to the moment the curd is ladled into its mould, shapes the finished cheese.

Understanding that process makes the finished cheese all the more interesting. The chestnut leaf is not simply decorative, the soft texture is not accidental, and the flavour is the result of choices made right back at the farm.

The result is a cheese that feels deeply connected to its place and method of production, and one that has earned its place on the Paxton & Whitfield counter. Cut into a ripe Mothais sur Feuille and you get something creamy, complex and quietly distinctive, with just enough earthiness from the leaf to make it unmistakably