Day 441 : SCS Spotlight, Version 3, Dispatch # 3 : Raw Goat's Milk Tomme Style Cheeses

This week with Spring in the air, I thought I would focus on raw goat's milk tomme style cheeses from our big guns -- Vermont and France. But before we get started, in case you don't know, let me explain what a tomme style cheese is:

Tomme is an umbrella term utilized for firm Alpine cheeses traditionally produced in the French Alps and Switzerland but obviously we are seeing an influx of tomme style cheeses being produced in other areas. It is said that the tomme was originally made in the wintertime when there isn't sufficient milk to produce a full bodied cheese or sometimes with the skim milk that is left over after the cream has been utilized for butter or higher  fat content cheeses. Therefore, tommes tend to be lower in fat content however they can range in texture but do have grassy and tangy flavor nuances to them. I find that they are great examples of their terroir.

Location: West Cornwall, Vermont. Twig Farm to precise, twenty acres and twenty-five goats to their name but boy do they craft some fabulous raw goat's milk cheeses. Their cornerstone is their goat tomme, a large cylinder of raw goat's milk that has been aged for about eighty days with a grey natural rind. It has the classic fresh crisp milky appeal of goat's milk, packed full of that great grassy citrusy tang with a Vermonty farmstead barnyardy sort of bent to boot. Perfect with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Small farm, small production, lots of love and care goes into their products and I guarantee it shows in each and every bite.

Image courtesy http://twigfarm.com/

It's French counterpart is somewhat more unique, Tomme de la Chataigneraie 'Chestnut grove' crafted in the Auvergne region of France. Why is it called Tomme de la Chataigneraie you might be wondering? Well that's because the goats whose milk is utilize to craft this cheese graze in the chestnut grove providing the cheese with a fabulously nutty taste profile which is dialed up a notch during the aging process as the ten pound wheels of cheese are wrapped in the leaves giving their exterior a yellow-ish hue. The interior paste is gooey and quite round yet with a firm texture and a lovely richness on the tongue. Clean and tangy with nutty barnyardy notes and a peppery finish, this is a unique tomme and definitely one that is worth the try.

Image courtesy of http://www.murrayscheese.com/