One of my favorite parts of being a cheesemonger is getting to try new cheeses, and discover new favorites. I LOVE receiving samples- and a lot of the time, they get me! This is one of the most recent ones that got me- an awesome Tomme from Georgia! We usually will try samples at work, and someone gets to take home the leftovers- there were NO leftovers of this cheese! Without further ado, let’s get down to the details of this Thomasville tomme!
Country of Origin: United States! Georgia, specifically.
Milk type: grass fed, raw cow milk!
Rennet type: Currently cannot find any info on rennet type, but will continue to search!
Tomme style cheeses are traditional in the mountainous regions of Europe, specifically in the Pyrenees. Sweet Grass Dairy LOVES their hometown and their state, as you can tell by the name of the cheese- and the dairy even has a cheese shop set up in Thomasville, Georgia! This tomme has some of the best flavors that I’ve tasted in a tomme (my favorite tomme ever- not kidding!), and I can almost guarantee you that a large part of this is due to the fact that the cows are pastured. Not only are the cows pastured, but the farm operates on a New Zealand rotational grazing model- this means that every 12 hours, the cows are moved to another pasture. This ensures that no one part of the land becomes overburdened, which is a great idea (and very simple!). The farm has been producing cheese since 2002, and has won dozens of ribbons from the American Cheese Society (who I received my certification through).
Enough about the farm itself, and more about the cheese! Made from raw milk- which helps to preserve the terroir of the milk- this tomme is aged for the minimum required time- at least 60 days. It has a natural rind, typical of many tommes, and the paste inside is GLORIOUS. There’s an obvious yellow color to the cheese, brought about by the fact that the cows get to graze, and therefor have more beta carotene in their diets, which passes on to the milk. No annatto here! The paste itself is supple and semi-soft, and so rich, and buttery, with an amazing finish that’s almost piney. Let it come to room temperature to allow for the full flavors to develop-but if you can’t wait, it’s still REALLY GOOD straight out of the fridge!
The farm uses this tomme to make a pimento cheese, and recommends salami sandwiches- and I couldn’t agree more. This cheese makes for a perfect picnic cheese- in salami sandwhiches, or paired with dried apricots and some sprouted almonds. This cheese would also make an awesome toasty, melted over sourdough bread and sliced cornichons. MHH MHH! If you’re lucky enough to live near Thomasville, check out their cheese shop and please tell me about! If not, and you’re interested in buying some of their cheese, you can actually find it online- right here: http://sweetgrassdairy.com/thomasville-tomme