Tomme au foin

1. History

Tomme au foin is a traditional cheese from Picardy, with roots in the Middle Ages when hay was used to wrap and transport cheeses.Oise held its secrets, but after two centuries of oblivion, it was revived in the 1990s by residents of Pays de Bray amid falling milk prices.

2. Physical characteristics

It is an uncooked pressed paste cheese made from raw cow's milk, featuring a yellow-brown slightly moist rind.

Wheels typically weigh 1 to 2 kg and are aged for 2 to 3 months on a bed of hay, giving it a supple texture and distinctive appearance.

3. Taste profile

The nose recalls the scent of freshly cut hay, while the paste delivers marked intensity from extended aging.

On the palate, it is supple and powerful, perfect at the end of a meal or on a cheese board, paired with a red wine like Valençay.

4. Production zone and period

Mainly produced in Pays de Bray, Picardy, especially in Oise, this tomme is revived by local cheesemakers like Jean-Marie Beaudoin.

Production spans Hauts-de-France, with no specific seasonal period noted, typical for aged cheeses.

5. Certification

Tomme au foin lacks protected designations like AOC, AOP, or IGP.

It is a farm cheese valued for its ancestral know-how revived without official labeling.