from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Tommes
on sale.
Photograph
courtesy of keepps
The
first tomme.
In the days
prior to refrigeration only cheese could save excess milk from being wasted. After the cheese or butter has been made the
remaining liquid is the whey. The whey may also be used to make cheese. Voila, in the French Alps hundreds of years ago farmers produced the cheese called tomme, sometimes written as tome. Tomme cheeses are now on sale in nearly every supermarket in France,.
The
French Tommes today
Today, with the popularity of tomme cheeses, many French farmers
and dairies make more money from their tommes than from butter or other
cheeses. Tommes are semi-hard cheeses and come with a variety of tastes and textures. The fat content of tommes vary with the food the cows eat. In the spring and summer the cows graze freely on the rich grasses in the Alps. In the winter the cows eat the dried grasses that were collected in the same region. The breeds of cows that produce the milk will affect
the final product as does the aging. The cheeses produced are all tommes; however, there will be gentle variations in flavor, texture and color.
Most tomme
cheeses are made from cow’s milk; however, most is not all. There are excellent
French sheep’s milk and goat’s milk tommes available. However, goat
and sheep milk tommes will require a separate post and more enjoyable experimentation.
Tomme
de Savoie IGP
Tomme
de Tomme de Savoie at a farmers' market.
Photograph
courtesy of tomxcody.
I have never had a bad Tomme de Savoie cheese,
but as I noted they are not all the same. A cheese made from the milk collected
from freely grazing cows during the summer in the Alps will have a higher fat content. In the winter the
pate may be gray and in the summer ivory to light yellow. In
the winter, the cows are kept in barns
and fed hay made from the grasses gathered in
their Alpine pastures; however, the cheese will be lower in fat. The best Tomme de
Savoie I ever tasted was one we bought at a farmers’ market in the town of
Annecy in the Savoie. This was a farm-made cheese and to purchase the exact same cheese, I would have had to track down
the farmer. Most of the Tommes de Savoie that are on sale all over France are made in
dairies and have tastes and textures that vary less. However, even in dairies the milk from different seasons have their affect on the taste and texture. Look on the packaging for the fat content you prefer. In a good fromagerie, a cheese shop, they often allow you to taste a sliver or two of different cheeses. Then you may buy with more knowledge and learn more about the differences in the wonderful Tommes de Savoie IGP.
Tomme
Fermier
Cheeses made in a similar manner have long been
made all over France; outside of the Savoie they were formerly just called farm cheeses. Now most of
these similar cheeses are called tommes as the farmers found that sells better. The grass the cattle graze on will be
different to that of the Savoie and the breeds of cows who produce the
milk will be different. However, the cheeses are all made in the same
manner. Wherever you are in France you will find locally popular tommes with slightly different tastes. For more information on
buying cheese in France and taking it home click
here.
A
wedge from a tomme.
Photograph
courtesy of Salim Virji.
Tomme
Laitier
Tommes made in dairies use the same regional name as the cheese produced on farms. The
dairies are more able to control and repeat the taste and texture from each
group of cheeses. However, to insure the consumer can identify between dairy and farm-made cheeses there are controls. Dairy-made cheeses have a red disk inserted in the cheese and
farm-made cheeses have a green disk. These disks cannot be seen from the
outside, but their existence prevents fraud.
The
size of Tomme Cheeses
There is no
unified weight or size for tomme cheeses; however, the smallest cheese I have
seen was about 12cm (5”) across and 6cm (2.35”) high. It weighed just
about one kilo. (35 ounces). Other
cheeses may weigh up to 4 kilos.
Aging
The aging of a
tomme is a critical part of the process.
The aging is carried out by professionals who spend their lives aging cheeses. In the Alps these professional have above or below ground cellars called fruitières. From each group of cheeses, they
identify those that will only need one month of aging and others that will
require three or four months or more at
different temperatures and degrees of humidity.
Tommes are now made all over France.
Tomme
de Provence.
Photograph
courtesy of John Picken.
An example of
tommes made a long way away from the Alps are those made in the department of
Ariège in the Midi-Pyrenees. Here, farm-made tommes are produced
high up in the Pyrenean pastures. If you are in that area of France in late
July or the beginning of August consider watching the judging of the Pyrenean
farmers’ best farm-made unpasteurized milk tomme cheeses. You may
also taste these Pyrenean Tommes and enjoy local dishes made with them or buy one to take home.
For the Midi-Pyrénees tomme cheese making competition contact:
The
Tourism Office in the town of Saint-Girons.
The
French language website of Saint Girons is:
http://www.tourisme-stgirons-stlizier.fr/en/
Google
and Bing translation make the website easily readable in English.
Even better,
contact the French Government Tourist Office in your home country before
departure and make sure the dates are correct.
Tommes
from the Auvergne and Languedoc- Roussillon.
In the
Auvergne, there are two excellent Auvergnat
dishes made
with local tommes. The most famous is Aligot,
many of which are made with a local tomme
and mashed potatoes. The second is called a Truffade
and made with
thinly sliced potatoes fried in goose fat and mixed with a local tomme just
before serving. Aligots, made with local tommes are also on the menu in the department of Lozère in
Languedoc-Roussillon and elsewhere.
Aligot being served in a restaurant.
Photograph courtesy of Tavallai.
Other
countries have cheeses made with whey using different recipes.
That includes the Italian Ricotta.
Connected
Posts:
Other French
cheeses with posts published by Behind the French Menu:
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
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2010,2015.
