Tomme (?) cheese

[Chouette]

I recently bought a delicious hunk of cheese from a 'Gastronomie' Expo, which tasted and had the texture of a really tangy, mature cheddar.  Foolishly I didn't really pay attention to the exact name of it but I know it was called Tomme (I think that's how it's spelt).  I'd really like to buy some more but when I looked in our local Carrefour the only Tomme I saw there looked totally different, i.e. a lot softer and creamier.  Does anyone have any idea of the name of the type of Tomme I should be looking for?  I know the cheese we bought at the Expo came from the Auvergne region.  It may be that I won't be able to buy it around these parts anyway, but I'd still like to know what it was called.

[Deby]

Hello,

Tomme - there are many, Tomme de Savoie, Tomme de Chartreuse - these cheeses are found all round the upper and lower alpes and there are many different types.  Sort of Gruyere cheese and quite hard and I agree they are delicious.  Have you tried looking on-line on any of the onlilne epiceries, I am sure they will stock some.

Deby

[Will]

It was probably Tomme de Savoie, that's about the most Cheddar-like in my limited experience. It's fairly easy to find throughout France, so you can always have the pleasure of checking. As Deby says, there are many Tommes. I like Tomme de Pyrenees, which has a black rind, it's a softer cheese than most of the Tomme family with quite a subtle, though not bland, flavour, so probably not to the taste of Cheddar lovers.

The nearest I have found to Cheddar among French cheeses is Beaufort, though Cantal and Comté are both similar hardish, well-flavoured cheeses. For cooking, I think Gruyere works very well in recipes where you would use Cheddar.

[letrangere]

Sorry, Will, not sure I would describe Tomme de Savoie as Cheddar-like, the variety I've eaten in the Alps is softer, creamier as someone else mentions.

Dare I admit this here but merely seeing the word takes me back 30 years to an unforgetable holiday at beautiful Talloires on lac d'Annecy with my parents and the thrill of an all too brief holiday romance with an extremely good looking young man from St Etienne.  We used to try to catch each other's eye over dinner whilst our parents waxed lyrical about the merits of the local Tomme on the hotel cheeseboard.   I didn't have much of a taste for cheese at the time but made an exception for this one.

M

[Teamedup]

I can't think of one tomme that is like cheddar.

 

The only cheese I think in any ressembles any english cheese is a young Cantal, never tried the middle or old ones, certainly from the centre of France. But I 'm not sure if it is classed as a Tomme though and can be bought in a hunk.

The tomme de savoies usually have a grey dirty coloured skin on them,  I wouldn't eat this skin. There are some tommes with a white skin, which you can eat.

Tomme de Pyrenees isn't a traditonal cheese but an invented one (so I've been told several times). It doesn't keep well, but I do love it with an apple.

I think that you should at least have a look at the Cantals and maybe ask for a taster.

 

[Chouette]

Thanks for all your replies.  I have tried Cantal and other cheeses that are supposed to be like cheddar but have found them a bit disappointing and not quite as tangy as I'd like.  The one we tried at the Expo was definitely called Tomme and had a black, mouldy looking rind.  It didn't have any holes in it and it had a slightly gritty texture.  It was wonderful - I think I'll just have to keep pestering our local cheese shops and counters in supermarkets to see if I can't find this mystery cheese

[Iceni]

FWIW we have tried several Cantal cheeses

Jeune - tasteless and reminiscent of immature supermarket cheddars

Entre Deux - excellent middle of the road every day cheddar like

Vieux - excellent mature cheddar like

Salers - fabulous strong better than cheddar

In no way am I suggesting that Cantal is in any way superior to other regional cheeses - it is just our way of supporting (fairly) local cheeses. Our nearest cheese is AOC Rocamadour which is not at all cheddar like.

The Tomme sold by the delectable Corinne at a local market looks to be a rival for Parmesan in the hardness stakes but I have not tried it yet - perhaps tomorrow ?

John

[Jill<br><br>Jill (99)]

I wouldn't say Tomme de Savoie is LIKE cheddar, but it is the nearest thing in flavour I had found before I discovered Cantal entre deux. But that is very iffy - sometimes I like it and sometimes it is more pongy and I can't bear it. I'd say Tomme de Savoie is not the same texture as cheddar but the flavour is similar. I can't imagine it would be successful for cheese on toast, but I could be wrong.

[Ormx]

Don't know if it's the same as Tomme des Pyrenees but I recently tasted Tomme Noir (which is from Pyrenees area I think) and proclaimed I had found my favourite cheese in France. But it's not much like cheddar. Creamy, yummy, gotta get some more...

[Battypuss]

The softer Tomme you mention is Fresh, not matured and is used to make truffade (cheesy mashed potato type thing), not at all similar to cheddar. The aged versions can be, depends on your point of view I suppose! Salers, as someoneone mentioned is ok, as is beaufort, though I would buy in a market or cheese shop rather than a supermarket.

[Will]

I've just had some Tomme d'Auvergne which looks like cheddar, but tastes nothing like it and the texture is typically creamy and soft. I've certainly had some Tomme de Savoie which is as hard as cheddar, though the flavour is very un-cheddary. I suppose that, although being strongly pro-British, I must be a bit of a philistine, because I'm more than happy to live without either cheddar or stilton.

Some of the Tomme Noire/Tomme de Pyrenees (the names seem, rightly or wrongly, to be interchangeable) is brilliant, others taste processed and disgusting.

Our local paper last week included a recipe for petit flans aux endives of which one of the ingredients was 100g de cheddar râpé. But we are in Manche, where you can get cheddar, though it's not that common. In this case the cheddar was cooked, with crème fraîche and eggs, so it's a bit of a mystery to me why this obviously-French recipe uses cheddar when I would have thought any of the harder French cheeses would have done just as well.

Coupez 2 endives en lanières. Faites chauffer une poêle avec 1 c à s d'huile d'olive et faites sauter les endives. Reservez.
Cassez 4 oeufs dans un saladier, ajoutez 4 c à s de crème fraîche épaisse et 200ml de coulis de tomates.
Fouettez énergetiquement, salez, poivrez, et saupoudrez 1 pointe de couteau d'épices 5 parfums. Ajoutez 100g de cheddar râpé et battez à nouveau.
Beurrez 4 ramequins et répartissez les endives sautées dans le fond. Versez la préparation aux oeufs sur les endives.
Mettez à cuire 20mn dans un four préchauffé à 200°C.
Au moment de servir, placez une pointe de feuille d'endive à la verticale dans le flan.