The Pearl of Mottarone: Toma del Mottarone

Toma del Mottarone is a cheese realized with cow’s milk. This cheese comes from Mottarone, and it is considered one of the best cheese of Piedmontese mountain pasture.

Mottarone is where a delicious cheese is produced: Toma. This latter’s organoleptic and visual characteristics make it an important dairy product. In Piedmont, Toma del Mottarone is one of the best mountain pastures. 

What are the peculiarities of Toma del Mottarone and the techniques to produce it? 

What are its characteristics?

Toma distinguishes itself as it is a dairy product coming from untreated cow’s milk. Comes from the homonymous Piedmontese area, namely Mottarone. The texture of this cheese is morbida occhiata: the duration of the aging is between two or three months. 

One of the main characteristics is its color, namely pale yellow. Cow’s milk is indeed very rich in beta-carotene or Vitamin A: for this reason, toma’s color is pale yellow. One block of cheese weighs 4 kg. Based on the production techniques and area, Toma del Mottarone will have a stronger or softer taste, even though its taste is generally very balanced. 

What are the techniques to produce? 

Producers of Toma del Mottarone use a traditional method for preparing it. This latter dates back to the Middle Ages, and it is strongly related to the alpine pasture. 

This kind of cheese relies on some milk that does not go through pasteurization and sterilization processes. After curdling the milk at a temperature of 36 degrees celsius, producers get a curdle which they make rest. After this, they heat the curdle up to a temperature of 42 degrees celsius and put it into brine for one day. 

After this procedure, aging starts. After two or three months, you can buy Toma del Mottarone in Cooperatives or in the Saturday’s city market of Armeno and the Tuesday-morning’s one in Gignese. This cheese is ideal with Cognà, gelatine di Moscato e Dolcetto and Truffle honey.