
Toma is a
soft or
semi-hard Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
cow's milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutr ...
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
, noted for its excellent melting qualities. It is made primarily in the
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
(it is one of the region's specialties
) and
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
regions of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Toma varies with region and locale of production, and is closely related to the French
tomme.
Toma piemontese variety from Piedmont has
protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...
(PDO) status under
EU legislation, while the Toma di Gressoney or Tomme de Gressoney (French), produced in the
Gressoney Valley, is officially recognized as a (PAT) and is included in the
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...
catalogue of heritage foods.
Toma is not very common in central and southern Italy, with
Basilicata
Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...
as the only main producer. Toma Lucana is also recognized as a .
It can have a fat content of 45%–52%.
See also
*
List of Italian cheeses
*
Tomme
References
External links
Disciplinare di produzione
Piedmontese cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses
Italian products with protected designation of origin
Cuisine of Aosta Valley
Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union
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