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Cheese from France, Bauges massif

Tome des Bauges PDOTome des Bauges

Raw cow milk, whole or partly skimmed, is first kept at least 12 hours above 10 °C (or chilled up to 28 hours) so it sours slowly, then renneted at 32–35 °C in an open copper vat. The maize-sized curd is heated to 35–40 °C, moulded by hand or gravity, pressed by stacking for at least 7 hours and dry-salted. The tome matures at least five weeks under a grey natural mould rind.

Fully documentedCheese36 daysPDO (EU, registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 503/2007 of 8 May 2007)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification sets temperatures and times but no doses. Vats hold at most 3 000 litres; cheeses weigh 1.1–1.4 kg when matured.
Raw cow milk from Abondance, Tarentaise or Montbéliarde herdsAbondance and Tarentaise at least 55 % of the herd; at most 6000 kg per cow per year; no silage[bauges-cdc2015]
Lactic starters, only from traditional culture methods (recuite, starter on milk, milk ripening, whey ripening) when usedDirect-set cultures only as a back-up to those methods[bauges-cdc2015]
Rennet[bauges-eu2006]
Salt, rubbed on by hand; dairies may also use brine[bauges-eu2006]
Starteronly traditional culture methods are allowed (recuite, starter on milk, ripening of the milk or of the whey); direct-set cultures only as back-up

Total time across the recorded steps: 36 days

Start
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6–10 °CMilk sugarLactic acid

What changes: The raw milk stands for half a day and begins to sour slowly

Step 1 of 6
Mature the milk
Time
12–28 h
Set
Temperature
6–10 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk has a rather high pH, so makers let it mature; slow lactic souring favours the milk's own flora.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Raw cow milk, whole or partly skimmed, is first kept at least 12 hours above 10 °C (or chilled up to 28 hours) so it sours slowly, then renneted at 32–35 °C in an open copper vat. The maize-sized curd is heated to 35–40 °C, moulded by hand or gravity, pressed by stacking for at least 7 hours and dry-salted. The tome matures at least five weeks under a grey natural mould rind. Made in 6 steps over 36 days. The longest step, mature under a mould rind, takes at least 35 days (Publication of an application 2006) and runs at 10–15 °C (Ministère de l'agriculture 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 35 daysSet[bauges-eu2006][bauges-cdc2015]Mature under a mould rind
Temperature10–15 °CSet[bauges-cdc2015]Mature under a mould rind

What makes this one different

Its milk is left to mature and sour slowly before renneting, the curd is only gently warmed, and the tome is pressed by stacking and grows a natural grey mould rind.

Milk
Raw cow milk, whole or semi-skimmed, worked once a day; no silage
Ripening
At least five weeks
Size
18–20 cm across, 3–5 cm high, 1.1–1.4 kg; at least 45 g fat per 100 g dry matter

Related ferments

Safety

Raw-milk cheese. The 2015 national specification bars any equipment that rapidly heats the milk above 40 °C before renneting, caps any heating of the curd at 40 °C, presses it for at least 7 hours, sets a pH below 5.50 at the end of pressing, requires at least five weeks of maturing at 10–15 °C and bars cold storage below 4 °C at any stage. It names no pathogen limits, and the inspection bodies are the INAO and the DGCCRF. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses while they age. The CDC says pregnant women, newborns, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity should avoid any cheese made with raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The application says there is evidence that tome or tomme was made in the Bauges several centuries ago, and that the traditional methods in village cooperative dairies and high mountain pastures survived next to the industrial production of better-known cheeses. The application was filed under the number FR/PDO/005/0254/18.9.2002 and published in the Official Journal on 2 September 2006, and the name was registered as a PDO on 8 May 2007. The 2015 specification adds that Annecy's council register of 1525 names a man, Pierre Lambert, as a 'Thomié' by trade.

  1. [bauges-eu2006] Publication of an application, 'Tome des Bauges', Official Journal of the European Union C 211, 2.9.2006 (Publications Office copy)spec
  2. [bauges-reg503] Commission Regulation (EC) No 503/2007 of 8 May 2007 registering certain names in the Register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Tome des Bauges (PDO) among them), OJ L 119, 9.5.2007, p. 5 (Publications Office copy)spec
  3. [bauges-temp2026] Communication de l'approbation d'une modification temporaire, 'Tome des Bauges', PDO-FR-0254-TEMP02, Ares(2026)9604939 (drought feed rules, EU register)spec
  4. [bauges-cdc2015] Ministère de l'agriculture, Avis relatif à l'approbation par la Commission européenne de la modification du cahier des charges de l'AOP « Tome des Bauges » (cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2015-347 du 26 mars 2015)gov
  5. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  6. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov