Tomme de Savoie cheese

Tomme de Savoie, like most Tommes, is usually made from the skim milk left over after the cream is used to make butter or richer cheeses. As a result, the cheese has a relatively low fat content (between 20 and 45%). The cheese is made year-round, and typically has a slightly different character depending on whether the cows fed on winter hay or summer grass.

The cheese normally comes in discs approximately 18 cm across, 5-8 cm in thickness, and weighing between 1 and 2 kg. It is first pressed, and then matured for several months in a traditional cellar, which produces the characteristically thick rind and often adds a faint cheese-cellar flavor.