Leaf-wrapped cheese
Cheese wrapped in leaves, of chestnut, banana, sal, fig, plane or nettle, to protect it and add flavour.
Also: leaf wrapping, feuille
Wrapping cheese in leaves is one of the oldest ways to protect it in the open air. In Provence, Banon is dipped in eau-de-vie and wrapped in chestnut leaves tied with raffia; in Spain, Valdeón blue is wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leaves; in Cornwall, Yarg is coated in nettles. In the Philippines, kesong puti is wrapped in banana leaf, in Morocco jben in palm leaves, and in Odisha chhena poda was baked in sal leaves. The leaves keep moisture in, keep insects out, slow ripening and lend an earthy, tannic note. They are not usually eaten.