Toma cheese
Toma ( Piedmontese cheese ) is a collective term for a family of cheeses from Northern Italy and adjacent regions. The cheese differ from each other greatly. Almost all are produced from cow's milk, and most of them are semi-solid or soft. Often for a Toma raw milk from two different milkings (one morning, one evening) taken. A Tomino is a smaller, fresher cheeses of this.
Of the different varieties are Toma Piemontese as Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP) by the EU and Toma di Gressoney than prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale protected by Italy. The Toma Piemontese is thereby produced in the entire Piedmont purely from cow's milk, however, this can be half or full fat milk, and raw milk or pasteurized milk. With the advent of the Slow Food movement and the new interest in traditional forms of production from small farms also number and variety of toma over the years has greatly increased since the turn of the millennium.
Other well-known Toma are the Tomino di Melle, Toma di Balme and Toma di Lanzo. Toma di Balme is derived from milk of cattle bred Valdostana Pezzata rossa, which are in the Aosta Valley. Toma di Lanzo is obtained in the valleys of Valli di Lanzo, there pressed, dried and salted, making it stronger than most other Toma. In the province of Cuneo is obtained primarily from sheep's milk Toma Testun. The Toma Mottarone is a straw-yellow raw milk cheese, which is produced on the slopes of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta Mottarone between. The Toma Ossolana Alpeggio is produced in a relatively small area in the mountains of the Aosta Valley, where the cows are often milked by hand, and graze on the meadows of a protected landscape. The more common Toma Ossolana Rodolfo is prepared similarly to the Alpeggion, but comes from a larger area, is usually made with less manual labor, and has a longer maturation period than the Alpino.
Toma cheese is eaten plain, but can also be prepared due to its mostly melting properties along with polenta or risotto.
Closely related are the Toma with the Fontina cheese from the Aosta Valley and the French Tomme cheeses.