Cheese Database

Tomme de Savoie vs Tomme des Pyrénées

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.

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.