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Picardy
« In Picardie, 19th-century farmers slipped their wheels of cheese into haystacks to protect them from the cold and dryness. This age-old farming tradition — forgotten, then rediscovered — has become a unique cheese. »
Uncooked pressed cheese from Picardy.
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Tomme au foin was born from a farming practice as simple as it was ingenious. On Picardie farms, to save space, farmers tucked their wheels of cheese between bales of hay in the barns to preserve and mature them. The gentle, steady warmth of the hay, its naturally regulated humidity, its insulating properties: everything combined to create an ideal micro-environment for maturing the cheese, which kept far longer than in the open air. And the hay imparted aromas of dried grass and meadow to its rind and paste, along with that signature touch of walnut that defines the cheese.
The first written mentions of “fromages frais au foin” produced in Clermont-de-l'Oise date from 1793, at the height of the Revolution. But this practice was certainly far older, passed down by word of mouth from farm to farm across the Beauvaisis and the Pays de Bray.
The tradition was lost during the 20th century, with the industrialisation of cheesemaking and agricultural specialisation. It was in 1993 that Jean-Marie Beaudoin, a cheesemaker from the Oise, joined his family in launching an appeal to local memory in the regional press to recover the forgotten recipe. This appeal bore fruit: after a century of silence, the traditional recipe resurfaced, and Tomme au foin de Picardie was reborn.
Appearance
A wheel with a rind coated in visible strands of dried hay, giving it a distinctive and unique vegetal appearance. Pale in colour, uncooked pressed paste made from raw cow's milk.
Aroma
Fresh grass, cut hay, meadow flowers. A light earthy and milky note typical of matured raw-milk cheeses.
Taste
A balance of vegetal and milky flavours, marked by a characteristic hint of walnut. The hay brings a rare complexity: fresh grass, meadow notes, and a delicate floral touch on the finish.
Texture
Semi-hard, firm curd, supple without being crumbly. Pleasant on the palate, melting smoothly over time.
Salting in brine or dry salting, depending on the cheesemaker.
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Tomme au foin de Picardie is enjoyed at room temperature, thinly sliced on a cheese board or simply on country bread. It pairs well with a Picardie bière de garde or a lightly oaked Loire white wine. Its botanical, meadow-like personality makes it an intriguing addition to culinary recipes — tarts, gratins, and mixed salads.
Tomme au foin de Picardie does not benefit from any official designation (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP)): the name, deemed too generic, cannot be registered with the Institut national de la propriété intellectuelle. It is an artisanal cheese without INAO certification, whose value lies in the authenticity of traditional farming practices and the quality of raw milk.
Artisan
Farm
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Fromagerie Jean-Marie Beaudoin is an organic cheese dairy located in Orsimont (Villers-sur-Auchy, Oise), about ten kilometres from Gournay-en-Bray. It presents itself as a cheese producer since 1993, championing natural and sustainable farming, cows fed on grass from its own pastures, and short supply chains with local producers. All its cheeses are certified 100% organic.
It notably produces Tomme au foin, matured for two to three months in a haystack that imparts its hay and walnut flavour, as well as a Tomme au cidre, whose rind is washed with cider during maturation. The cheese dairy offers tours of the farm followed by a tasting, as well as direct sales at the farm and at local markets, organic shops and local grocery stores.
One hundred and seventy-five years after Charles Gervais discovered the recipe for petit-suisse in this very village, Jean-Marie Beaudoin recreates the old-fashioned farmhouse version: a twenty-four-hour curdling followed by thirty-six hours of draining, before moulding with a piping bag.
| Address | Le Gd Chem. (Orsimont), 60650 Villers-sur-Auchy, France |
| 09 71 20 83 40 | |
| beaudoin.jm@orange.fr | |
| fromageriebeaudoin.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| @fromagerie_bio_jean_marie | |
| Visits | Yes — direct sales at the farm (Wed. and Fri. 16:00–19:00, Sat. 10:00–13:00) |
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All production is certified organic, since 2010. |