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Cheese from Italy, Piedmont

Toma Piemontese PDOToma Piemontese

Whole or part-skimmed cow milk, raw or heat-treated, may rest in the vat up to 12 or 24 hours, is optionally inoculated and is set at 32–38 °C and pH no lower than 6 within 40 minutes. The curd is broken to maize-grain or rice-grain size, sometimes semi-cooked up to 48 °C, drained 3–72 hours and salted. It matures in caves at no more than 13 °C for at least 15 or 60 days, by size.

Fully documentedCheese31 days – 34 daysPDO (EU, registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 of 1 July 1996); specification amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/196 and by the 2025 standard amendment PDO-IT-0026-AM01Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives temperatures and times but no doses. Wheels weigh 1.8–9 kg, 15–35 cm across and 6–12 cm high after the minimum maturing.
Cow milk, whole for the full-fat type or partly skimmed for the medium-fat typeFrom one or more milkings; may be raw or heat-treated[toma-disc]
Lactic ferments and/or natural starter cultures, where neededNatural cultures must come from the area or from earlier batches[toma-disc][toma-eu2025]
Calf rennet, or a non-animal coagulantDosed by the temperature and acidity of the milk[toma-disc][toma-eu2025]
Coarse salt by hand, or brine[toma-disc]
Starteroptional lactic ferments and/or natural starters from the area or earlier batches

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 34 days

Start
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What changes: The milk rests in the vat and cream rises for the medium-fat type

Step 1 of 6
Rest the milk in the vat
Time
up to 24 h
Set
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Whole or part-skimmed cow milk, raw or heat-treated, may rest in the vat up to 12 or 24 hours, is optionally inoculated and is set at 32–38 °C and pH no lower than 6 within 40 minutes. The curd is broken to maize-grain or rice-grain size, sometimes semi-cooked up to 48 °C, drained 3–72 hours and salted. It matures in caves at no more than 13 °C for at least 15 or 60 days, by size. Made in 6 steps over 31 days – 34 days. The longest step, salt, takes up to 15 days (Ministero dell'agricoltura 2025). Lactic ferments and natural starter cultures, where the dairy adds them does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 15 daysSet[toma-disc]Salt
Temperature32–38 °CSet[toma-disc]Inoculate and set with rennet
AciditypH at least 6Set[toma-disc]Inoculate and set with rennet

What makes this one different

Made in two fat levels from milk that may rest in the vat for up to a day, set below 38 °C and only gently semi-cooked if at all; the soft texture comes from cave maturing at high humidity.

Types
Full-fat from whole milk (at least 40 % fat in dry matter) and medium-fat from part-skimmed milk (at least 20 %), marked 'S'
Ripening
At least 15 days, or 60 days for wheels over 5.2 kg
d'Alpeggio
Made on the mountain pasture from grass-fed cows between 1 June and 15 October

Related ferments

Safety

The sources set milk pH no lower than 6 at renneting, a setting time of at most 40 minutes, brine salting of at most 48 hours and maturing at no more than 13 °C for at least 15 days (60 days for wheels of 5.2 kg or more). The 2014 application says starters were allowed because cleaner milk has fewer bacteria and can coagulate and ripen poorly. The sources give no pathogen limits. The milk may be raw and small wheels may mature only 15 days. 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

A decree of 10 May 1993 (GURI no. 196 of 21 August 1993) recognised the denomination of origin 'Toma Piemontese' and its production rules, and repealed the ministerial decrees of 24 November 1964 and 16 September 1977. The EU registered the name in 1996 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 of 1 July 1996). The Commission approved non-minor amendments to the specification on 5 February 2015, after Italy's 2014 application, and a standard amendment followed in 2025 (PDO-IT-0026-AM01, communicated 28 October 2025).

  1. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  2. [toma-disc] Ministero dell'agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (MASAF), Disciplinare di produzione della DOP 'Toma Piemontese' (current text, linked from the 2025 EU communication)spec
  3. [toma-eu2025] Communication of approval of a standard amendment, 'Toma Piemontese', PDO-IT-0026-AM01, Official Journal of the European Union C/2025/5773, 28.10.2025 (Publications Office copy)spec
  4. [toma-eu2014] Amendment application and single document, 'Toma Piemontese', EC No IT-PDO-0117-01074, Official Journal of the European Union C 310, 12.9.2014 (Publications Office copy)spec
  5. [toma-reg1263] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 of 1 July 1996 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin, OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 19 (Publications Office copy; Toma Piemontese (PDO) is in the cheese list of the Annex)spec
  6. [toma-reg2015] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/196 of 5 February 2015 approving non-minor amendments to the specification of 'Toma Piemontese' (PDO), OJ L 33, 10.2.2015, p. 7 (Publications Office copy)spec
  7. [toma-dpcm1993] Disciplinare di produzione della denominazione di origine del formaggio 'Toma Piemontese', DPCM 10 maggio 1993, GURI n. 196, 21 agosto 1993 (printed copy hosted by ONAF)spec