Tome des Bauges AOP

Tome des Bauges (spelled with one “m”) is the only tome of Savoie to carry an AOP. A flat wheel of 18 to 20 cm, around 1.1 to 1.4 kg, an irregular grey rind dusted with white and a cellar smell, a supple, melting ivory to yellow paste. More rustic and more characterful than the everyday Tomme de Savoie, it comes from the Bauges massif. It earned its AOP in 2007.

A massif cheese, between two departments

The Bauges massif is a regional nature park straddling Savoie and Haute-Savoie, just south of Lake Annecy. Tome des Bauges is its flagship product. The link to the territory is strong: the rules frame the area, the cattle breeds and the herd’s feed, with part of the production on alpine pasture. That is what sets it apart from a plain tome and earns it its appellation. To place it among the others, see the Cheeses of Savoie pillar.

Farm or dairy made

Tome des Bauges exists in a farm version, made on the farm with the milk of a single herd, more characterful, and in a dairy version, made in a cooperative from collected milk, more even. In both cases, it is a pressed, uncooked raw-milk paste. The grey rind develops its moulds in the cellar, and the paste keeps fruity and woody aromas, with vegetal and hazelnut notes.

Tasting it

Tome des Bauges is eaten as it is, at room temperature, to enjoy its melting paste and delicate taste. It has its place on a board of Savoie cheeses, between a mild tomme and a more powerful cheese. In cooking, it melts well in gratins. A dry white or a light Savoie red goes with it: see Savoie wines.

Where to find it

The Bauges massif touches the south of Lake Annecy, which makes it an easy product to track down around Annecy and in the Bauges villages. Look for it at cheesemongers, in the massif’s dairies and at markets. As often, the raw-milk farm version, bought from the producer, is the most interesting to taste.