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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

TomettoTumet

Whole raw cow milk is set with calf rennet at 36 °C in about 40 minutes, cut to hazelnut size and warmed to 40–41 °C. The curd drains in small moulds until it sours, sometimes in a warm room at 30–35 °C to pH 5.3–5.2, and is then dry-salted or brined. It is eaten fresh or after a few days; the freshest forms are kneaded with spices into Salignun.

Fully documentedCheese6.3 days – 16 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe rennet dose is given per 100 litres of milk; no other amounts are given. A cheese weighs 1.8–2.0 kg.
Whole raw cow milk from one or two milkingsThe earlier milking is kept cold[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet30–40 cc per 100 litres of milkThe regional sheet says only "rennet"; the ONAF sheet names the type as calf[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Selected thermophilic starter (some recent producers only)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, dry or as brine[pat-sheet]
Startersome recent producers add selected thermophilic cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.3 days – 16 days

Start
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36 °C

What changes: Calf rennet sets the raw milk into a firm curd at 36 °C in about 40 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Set the milk with calf rennet
Time
40 min
Reported
Temperature
36 °C
Reported
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 raw cow milk is set with calf rennet at 36 °C in about 40 minutes, cut to hazelnut size and warmed to 40–41 °C. The curd drains in small moulds until it sours, sometimes in a warm room at 30–35 °C to pH 5.3–5.2, and is then dry-salted or brined. It is eaten fresh or after a few days; the freshest forms are kneaded with spices into Salignun. Made in 6 steps over 6.3 days – 16 days. The longest step, eat fresh or ripen briefly, takes 6–15 days (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step6–15 daysReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Eat fresh or ripen briefly
Temperature36 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Set the milk with calf rennet
AciditypH 5.2–5.3Reported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Drain and sour in moulds

What makes this one different

A wide, flat fresh toma that began with farm families keeping two or three cows, soured in the mould, sometimes in a warm room, rather than pressed. Fresh forms are the base of the spiced Salignun.

Rind
None when fresh; after some days thin, light yellow-orange
Size
Irregular cylinder 20–30 cm across, side 3–5 cm, 1.8–2.0 kg
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and eaten fresh or after a short ripening; the curd is soured to about pH 5.2–5.5 before salting. 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.

Hazards the sources name: Coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae rose in the first days of making a related Piedmont toma, Toma tipo Piemonte (six batches from two producers), and fell over its 60–90 days of ripening, much longer than this cheese gets; no staphylococcal enterotoxin was found in the samples tested. Not measured in this cheese.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says it began in farm families with only two or three dairy cows, who could not make large tome, and that the small forms, of centuries-old origin, were sold at home or at local markets.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, technical sheets of traditional food products (BU 38 S1, 24 September 2015), product D 37 'Tometto o Tumet' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Tometto'web
  3. [astegiano2014] Astegiano S, Bellio A, Adriano D, Bianchi DM, Gallina S, Gorlier A, Gramaglia M, Lombardi G, Macori G, Zuccon F, Decastelli L (2014) Evaluation of Hygiene and Safety Criteria in the Production of a Traditional Piedmont Cheese. Italian Journal of Food Safety 3(3):1705paper
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov