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PGI — Rhône-Alpes
Grey bloomy rind, supple and mild paste — Tomme de Savoie is the everyday cheese of the Alps, found on family tables and in impromptu refuge tartiflettes.
Uncooked pressed cheese from Rhône-Alpes, PGI (IGP) since 1996.
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Tomme de Savoie is the oldest of the Savoyard cheeses, born of necessity: on the alpine pastures, farmers used the skimmed milk left over from butter-making to craft this nourishing cheese — regarded as the "poor man's food", it was an essential source of protein for families. This "poverty" became its wealth: a moderate and variable fat content depending on the variety (20 to 45% relative to dry matter), a light texture, and a rind bloomed with the mountain's natural moulds.
For centuries, every farm and every fruitière produced its own local Tomme, differing in size and appearance according to the degree of skimming. In the 19th century, with the rise of the fruitières, milk was increasingly channelled into larger cheeses such as Emmental de Savoie, Gruyère or Beaufort, reducing Tomme to a marginal production, reserved for surplus milk or direct consumption on the farm.
Since its European recognition in 1996, the Tomme de Savoie PGI has protected a broad yet strictly defined area: production and maturing are reserved for Savoie (73) and Haute-Savoie (74), with milk also permitted to come from a few neighbouring communes in Ain and Isère. This recognition was slow in coming: in the 1960s, the fraud control service refused to protect the name "de Savoie", considering it to have fallen into the generic domain since tommes were already being made outside Savoyard territory; it was not until 1978 that an initial regional label defined the production area, followed in 1996 by the European PGI itself. Unlike more prestigious cheeses (Beaufort, Reblochon), Tomme has never sought the limelight — reigning quietly over Savoyard and Alpine family tables.
Appearance
Flat cylinder, 18–21 cm in diameter, 5–8 cm in height, 1.2–2 kg (also available in a small format, from 400 to 900 g). Fairly thick natural rind, smooth to slightly uneven, grey to greyish-white, on which secondary light-brown to dark-brown moulds develop, along with occasional patches of white down. White to yellow paste, homogeneous, with small irregular openings
Aroma
Woody, with notes of mushroom and cellar
Taste
Clean and lightly salted, with delicate, subtle notes such as hazelnut; young, mild with a hint of acidity; more mature, distinctive, powerful and rustic, sometimes with a slight touch of bitterness
Texture
Both supple and firm, never runny nor chalky
Tomme fermière — Farmhouse production (a small number of producers), identified by a green casein label hidden beneath the rind. Rare and sought-after.
Tomme laitière — Milk from several farms processed in a cooperative or cheese dairy, identified by a red casein label. Accounts for the majority of the volume produced, more standardised.
Tomme jeune — Matured for the regulatory minimum (4 weeks), very supple paste, mild flavour with a slight hint of acidity.
Tomme affinée — Matured for longer, up to 3 months, with a more developed rind, firmer paste, and a more distinctive, powerful and rustic flavour, sometimes with a touch of bitterness.
Long (minimum 4 hours, between 8 and 16°C) or short (30 to 90 minutes, between 30 and 35°C) depending on the dairy
Vat held at a temperature between 30 and 35°C, complete curd formation in 25 to 40 minutes
Curd sliced into grains, ranging from the size of a grain of maize to that of a hazelnut
Curd grains heated then stirred, moulding into moulds or faisselles, pressed mechanically or by stacking the moulds
Dry or in brine
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Tomme de Savoie is enjoyed sliced, at room temperature. It is the cheese of the Alpine cheeseboard, accompanying fruit (pears, grapes), walnuts and wholemeal bread. In cooking, it lends itself to mountain potato gratins, homemade fondues, or simply buttered toast — tartiflette itself remains the preserve of Reblochon. Wine pairings: Roussette de Savoie, light Mondeuse blanche. Sweet pairing: fruit pastes (redcurrant jelly), or on its own at the end of a meal for its light digestibility.
Since: 1996
Area covered: Savoie (73), Haute-Savoie (74) for production and maturing; for milk, the area extends to three communes in Ain (01: Anglefort, Corbonod, Chanay) and overlaps slightly into Isère (38)
Key requirements: Cow's milk (Abondance, Montbéliarde, Tarentaise min. 75%), matured for a minimum of 4 weeks, natural bloomy rind, fat content variable depending on the variety (20 to 45% relative to dry matter), green casein label (farmhouse) or red (dairy)
Co-operative
Dairy cooperative
Artisan cheesemaker
GAEC
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The cooperative recounts that it was founded in 1971, with nineteen members and two employees, and established itself in Thônes in 1976. A first Tomme and Raclette workshop was set up there in 1978; refitted in 1983, it enabled the processing of four thousand litres of milk per day according to the dairy, and that same year a technician post was created to monitor farmhouse production. According to the website, the retail shop and visitor tour route date back to 1987.
A division of labour lies at the heart of its model: farmhouse cheeses are made on the farm by member producers, whilst the cooperative handles the affinage, providing customised quality monitoring for each. It states that it was created specifically to pool these resources—maturing, sales, quality control—in order to preserve traditional on-farm production.
Its cellars are unlike any other: in 2007, the cooperative acquired a four-hundred-metre former railway tunnel between Samoëns and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, on a line closed to traffic in 1959. The tunnel had initially served as a mushroom farm, then as a curing house, before an affineur moved in and the cooperative began having its cheeses matured there on contract. It has since equipped the tunnel (electricity, shelving, loading bay) and presents it as one of the last natural cellars in the region.
Lastly, the cooperative runs a direct-sales shop at 40 Avenue d'Annecy in Thônes, open Monday to Saturday and on Sunday mornings.
Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers · Tours
| Address | 40 Av. d'Annecy Za, 74230 Thônes, France |
| 04 50 02 05 60 | |
| reblochon-thones.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| Visits | Yes (shop + factory tours by appointment) |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2007. |
