Cheese Database

Saint-Nectaire vs Tomme de Savoie

Saint-Nectaire

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
France
Place
Auvergne

Saint-Nectaire is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Auvergne, in central France. It is pressed, not cooked, and formed into a flat round with a gray, mottled rind. The paste is supple, ivory to pale gold, and usually has a few small holes. The smell of the rind suggests damp earth, straw, and a cellar, while the inside stays milky. Farmhouse and dairy versions both exist, and the label tells them apart.

Tomme de Savoie

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
France
Place
Savoie

Tomme de Savoie is a pressed cow's milk cheese from Savoie, in France, and it is the upland tomme of that region. Wheels are modest in size, with a natural rind that is often gray brown and mottled with harmless surface molds. The paste is pale and supple, with small openings rather than large eyes. Some cream is often taken off the milk first, so the flavor is milky and nutty rather than very rich. It is a mountain table cheese for slicing and for cooking.