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PGI — Midi-Pyrénées
The cheese of aligot: a fresh, elastic cheese, the legendary ingredient of the most famous Savoyard purée in Occitanie.
Uncooked pressed cheese from Midi-Pyrénées, PGI (IGP) since 2023.
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Tome fraîche is the heart of aligot, the emblematic dish of Aubrac. Inherited from the know-how of the buronniers (mountain pasture cheesemakers) of Aubrac, its production has been kept alive since the Middle Ages. This age-old tradition reached a new milestone on 23 October 2023: the European Commission registered Tome fraîche de l'Aubrac as a PGI, finally granting official recognition to this mountain culinary heritage.
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The Aubrac plateau, a vast mid-mountain area averaging 1,000 m in altitude, spans the departments of Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère, naturally bounded by the Truyère and the Lot. Cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds graze there for at least 170 days a year on rich, aromatic flora, which scents the milk and gives it its characteristic quality. The raw milk from these 77 Aubrac farms is then processed by 7 cheesemakers across the sector — one cooperative, five farmhouse producers and one buron.
Aligot is the dish that made the reputation of Tome fraîche, to the extent that the INAO cites it as an emblematic culinary speciality of the region. Today, the Aubrac cooperative offers it among its own products, alongside Laguiole and Tome, and even provides a 'giant aligot' service.
Appearance
White paste, supple and firm, with a few small openings
Aroma
Fresh, buttery milk, scent of hay and floral notes from the Aubrac flora
Taste
Milky, with a slight acidity brought by a short maturation
Texture
Supple and firm, very melt-in-the-mouth in its raw state; becomes stringy and elastic when cooked, notably in aligot
raw, whole milk from cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds
coagulation of the raw milk with rennet
in the cheese vat, then draining
the drained curd is placed in cloth then pressed under tome presses
the blocks of tome are regularly cut, turned and stacked before being pressed again
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Since: 2023
Area covered: 130 milk producers, 77 farms, 7 cheesemakers — Aveyron, Cantal, Lozère
Key requirements: Raw, whole milk, Simmental française and Aubrac cows, grazing ≥ 170 days/year, uncooked pressed cheese, unsalted, unripened
Registered on 23/10/2023.
PDO/PGI syndicate
Cooperative
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