Toma, Tometta, Tomino

This hard cheese, made with unpasteurized full-fat or semi-skimmed cows’ milk, is produced in Piedmont, the Aosta Valley and Liguria. The cheeses are shaped into cylindrical rounds 10-20 cm (4-8 inches) in diameter and 4-8 cm (1½-3¼ inches) in height, with an average weight of 2-4 kg (4½-9 lb). After it has been salted in brine, it is aged for 30-70 days.

It is essentially a table cheese, with all the flavours of Alpine pastures. When it is fresh it is called tometta and is sold in rounds of a similar shape to the toma and, like paglierina, 12-15 cm (4¾-6 inches) in diameter and 2-3 cm (¾-1¼ inches) high. The most famous of these cheeses are the carmagnola of Pratonevoso and the caprella, which is made with goats’ milk.