"Mothais sur feuille" is a soft cheese shaped like a flat cylinder, made from fresh, whole, raw goat's milk. It is dried and aged on a chestnut leaf, which helps regulate the cheese’s moisture content and contributes to the product’s characteristics. Its yeast-coated rind, sometimes veined, ranges from light beige to blue. The texture is creamy. During aging, the Mothais sur feuille develops milky and yeasty notes, followed by animal notes, sometimes complemented by woody, vegetal, and dried fruit aromas.

Three breeds of goats can be used to produce “Mothais sur feuille”: Saanen, Alpine, and Poitevine, as well as their crossbreeds. A specific label highlights “Mothais sur feuille” made from the milk of Poitevine herds, a local breed currently undergoing a revival. The goats have access to pasture or an outdoor living area for at least 120 days a year. The limestone soils of the Groies region, which are favorable for legumes and grains, have enabled the development of mixed-farming operations, ensuring the herds’ food self-sufficiency. The diet, which includes a large amount of protein-rich alfalfa hay, results in the production of milk of very high cheese-making quality. Milk production is limited to 1,000 liters per goat per year. The cheese is molded by hand using a ladle and aged for at least 12 days after renneting. The chestnut leaves used for aging are picked directly from the tree in the fall, at the first frost.