P'tit Basque vs Tomme des Pyrénées
P'tit Basque
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- France
- Place
- Pyrenees
P'tit Basque is a small sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenees in France. The milk is pasteurized, and the wheels stay modest in size, which makes them easy to cut for a board. The paste is smooth and medium firm, with a pale ivory color and a mild sheep aroma. A thin brown rind shows a basket-weave mark from the mould. It is a Basque-style cheese made for everyday eating rather than long cellar aging.
Tomme des Pyrénées
Facts
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Waxed or sealed
- Country
- France
- Place
- Midi-Pyrénées
Tomme des Pyrénées is a rustic semi-hard cheese from Midi-Pyrénées, in the French Pyrenees. The usual shop wheel is a squat cylinder with a black or gold coat that makes it easy to spot. Under that coat the paste is supple, ivory to pale yellow, and dotted with small irregular openings. The taste runs from fresh and mild to fuller and lightly earthy, depending on how long the wheel rests. It is a flexible table cheese rather than a sharp grating block.