Tomme de Savoie

Appearance & taste

Tomme de Savoie is a flat cylinder 18 to 21 cm in diameter, 5 to 8 cm high and weighing 1.2 to 2 kg; a smaller format with the same characteristics weighs 400 to 900 g. Compared with other cheeses of the region, it is relatively small. The rind is smooth to slightly uneven and grey to whitish grey, and other moulds may develop on it. According to the specification, it owes its grey appearance to a surface flora consisting mainly of Mucor.

The paste is semi-hard, white to yellow and has small holes. The specification describes the taste as strong and slightly salty, sometimes with a sour and a sharp undertone. The cheese contains at least 9 % fat relative to its total weight, at least 45 % dry matter and 1.2 to 2 % salt. Small wheels may be labelled “small”, but not directly next to or above the name.

Production

The milk comes from herds consisting of at least 75 % cows of the Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise breeds. Their roughage, that is grass, hay, aftermath, green maize and straw, comes entirely from the area; dry feed, maize cobs, moist maize grain and fodder beet from outside are limited to an average of 4 kg of dry matter per cow per day.

The milk is processed raw or thermised, so that its natural flora is preserved. The cheesemakers pay particular attention to inoculating the milk and to controlling the mesophilic and thermophilic flora. The curd is pressed but not cooked. The wheels ripen in the cellar on wooden boards and are turned at least once a week; in the process the “hairs” of the Mucor are smoothed down, which contributes to the typical rind. The minimum ripening period is 30 days from renneting until the cheese leaves the cellar. Milk production, processing and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area lies mostly between 200 and 2,500 m above sea level, with soils from crystalline and limestone massifs. The mountain climate brings long, sometimes harsh winters and hot summers. Except in the deep valleys of the Maurienne and the Tarentaise, an average of 1,000 mm of precipitation falls each year, up to 1,500 mm at the foot of the Pre-Alps, spread over the whole year. This produces pastures and hay meadows with a rich, varied flora. The local breeds make up over 90 % of the livestock; they are adapted to steep pastures and to the climate.

According to the specification, Tomme de Savoie is the oldest of the cheeses of Savoie. For a long time it was a cheese for the household’s own use and an important source of protein for the rural population. How much milk was left for it depended on the milk’s other uses, above all as a sought-after source of fat; the farmers made the cheese from what was left over. Depending on how heavily the milk had been skimmed, the cheese had a different fat content, and depending on the farm, a different size. Later, the originally home-made cheese was also made in certain dairies.