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Cheese from Italy, Valle d'Aosta

Toma di Gressoney

Raw cow milk, with up to 10% goat or sheep milk, rests at least 12 hours in basins in cold water and is skimmed. It is set at about 35 °C (32–36 °C by season) in about an hour, cut to rice-grain size, warmed to no more than 40 °C and stirred off the heat at least 15 minutes. The lightly pressed or unpressed cheeses are dry-salted over weeks and ripen at least 60 days on wooden boards in cellars.

Fully documentedCheese2.7 months – 3 monthsPAT; Slow Food Presidio; municipal collective mark of the Lys valleyFamily: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Toma di Gressoney, a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Yozh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceThe specification sets limits, not a recipe, and gives no batch size or rennet dose. A cheese weighs 2–6 kg.
Raw milk of Valdostana cows, rested at least 12 hours and skimmedWhole milk from the last milking may be added[disciplinare]
Goat and/or sheep milk (optional)no more than 10%[disciplinare]
Rennet (calf rennet, per ONAF)[disciplinare][onaf-sheet]
Native (autochthonous) cultures only, if any[disciplinare]
Salt (dry; brine allowed)[disciplinare]
Spices and herbs (optional, by local custom)[disciplinare]
Starterno selected starter cultures; only autochthonous ferments are allowed

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.7 months – 3 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: In basins in cold water the cream rises off the milk for at least 12 hours

Step 1 of 7
Rest and skim the milk
Time
at least 12 h
Set
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The cream is skimmed by letting it rise, or by machine.

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, with up to 10% goat or sheep milk, rests at least 12 hours in basins in cold water and is skimmed. It is set at about 35 °C (32–36 °C by season) in about an hour, cut to rice-grain size, warmed to no more than 40 °C and stirred off the heat at least 15 minutes. The lightly pressed or unpressed cheeses are dry-salted over weeks and ripen at least 60 days on wooden boards in cellars. Made in 7 steps over 2.7 months – 3 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 2 months (Comune di Gressoney-Saint-Jean (Valle d'Aosta)).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[disciplinare][onaf-sheet]Ripen
Temperature32–36 °CSet[disciplinare][onaf-sheet]Set the curd

What makes this one different

Rare alpine toma, about 4,000 wheels a year, mostly made in summer. Only native cultures are allowed, and up to 10% goat or sheep milk may go in.

Rind
Washed, smooth, slightly unctuous, reddish to pink or yellow
Size
Ø 15–30 cm, height 5–20 cm, 2.0–6.0 kg
Output
About 4,000 cheeses a year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and ripened at least 60 days; the specification gives no pH or safety limits. In a study that deliberately added low levels of E. coli O157:H7 to raw milk for Cheddar and Gouda, counts fell during ageing, but it was still detectable after selective enrichment past 270 days. The authors suggest that 60 days alone does not eliminate it in those cheeses. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Gruyère or Comté.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says the cheese comes from the alpine-pasture tradition of the Lys valley, where the Walser used the land differently from the large Fontina pastures. Cheeses that come from the summer pastures may add the words 'di alpeggio' to the name.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  2. [damico2010] D'Amico D.J., Druart M.J., Donnelly C.W. 2010, Behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the manufacture and aging of Gouda and stirred-curd Cheddar cheeses manufactured from raw milk, Journal of Food Protection 73:2217–2224 (abstract)paper
  3. [disciplinare] Comune di Gressoney-Saint-Jean (Valle d'Aosta), Disciplinare tecnico di produzione per il formaggio 'Toma di Gressoney' (collective mark of the Lys valley municipalities; copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  4. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Toma di Gressoney'web
  5. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Toma di Gressoney' (id 887)web