I had a busy day today – I went to see the Tour de France pass by near Basse Copette and then on to see a Gallo-Roman theatre in Vendeuil-Caply. So not much time for researching and thinking about the cheese on the menu today: Tomme de Savoie.

From the mountains in the Savoie region of France, the makers of this cheese claim that its distinctive taste comes from the rich and varied flora that their cows graze on. The cheese is made from the skim milk left after it has been used for the making of cream or other cheeses. As a result Tomme de Savoie has a low fat content. Like the Saint-Nectaire I had yesterday, this cheese is also pressed and uncooked. It also has an edible rind that is brown-grey in colour, that develops after several months of maturing.

I think this would be a good cheese to use in dishes that require a thick cheese sauce, particularly something like a macaroni cheese. In fact, I can not wait to try just that.

The cheese is made in three communes that are found in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie Departments, in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. And in 1996 Tomme de Savoie was awarded Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) status.

Read about my 365 French Cheese Challenge … and stick around to see if after 365 days Rocamadour is still my favourite French cheese.