Where on earth is she going?
The canton of Jura is to Switzerland roughly what Scotland is to England or Sicily to Italy: part of the picture, yet very far away, quite different from the rest of the country. The Jura man is considered stubborn, the Jura woman too, and yes, I would agree with that. I’m in a position to say so, as I live in the far reaches of the Jura, a stone’s throw from the French border. However, I’m just an immigrant, easily spotted by the fact that I don’t have a very good grasp of the drawling French spoken here. In my village there are just a few residents and a wonderful cheese shop, which also serves as the village shop. Apparently they make a fantastic fondue here, though I can’t judge that, as I don’t like fondue. But then there’s this Tomme.
The name ‘la tomme’ probably derives from the Ligurian word ‘toma’, which means ‘cheese’. It is likely – though we don’t know for certain – that they originated in places where butter was a more profitable business, and were therefore made from skimmed cow’s milk. However, as Tomme is now also made with sheep’s or goat’s milk, it is also conceivable that it was often produced where there wasn’t enough milk for a pressed, full-fat cheese weighing several kilos – and the farmer’s wife, the alpine herder or the cheesemaker simply used some home-made recipe to make use of the leftovers in the production process. Whilst there are very precise regulations governing larger cheeses, these small, full-fat soft cheeses with a noble mould rind allow for much more freedom; they can be flavoured with caraway, wild garlic, nuts, or even truffles.
The production process is relatively simple: the raw (or thermised) milk is curdled in small containers with rennet at a temperature of 32 to 38 degrees. The curdling and firming of the ‘curd’ then takes only about 30 to 40 minutes; this curd is then cut into cherry-sized pieces, stirred through, and the mixture placed in moulds, where it can drain for three to eight hours without being pressed. It is then dry-salted or placed in a brine bath. Finally, the little cheese must be turned frequently during its maturing period of 7 to 14 days – and once the formation of a fine mouldy rind becomes apparent, the Tommes are actually ready to eat. As you can see: plenty of scope for experimentation. Today, every cheesemaker probably has her own personal recipe, with or without ingredients, using raw milk or not, sheep’s, goat’s or cow’s milk, smaller, larger, matured for longer or not at all. The product should weigh between 80 and 170 grams.
As the name suggests, the Tomme comes mainly from French-speaking Switzerland; however, the Mutschli are prepared in a similar way in German-speaking Switzerland. The best known are certainly the Tomme vaudoise, i.e. those from the canton of Vaud, although there is no protected designation of origin. The problem is: there are far too many Tomme cheeses from large cheese factories, made with pasteurised milk, virtually tasteless and rubbery, yet cheaply available in supermarkets. These cheap imitations cannot be compared to the true delicacies made from raw milk.
And that brings us back to the Jura; the village is called Bourrignon, and Monsieur Girardin is the cheesemaker here. Milk has been processed at the dairy for over 100 years, but it was not until 1990, when Joseph Girardin took over the business from his father, that the trained cheesemaker began his own production. Six farms supply him with milk – 1.2 tonnes a year – of which he and his son process around 10 per cent into the house specialities. He offers six varieties of his own. One exciting example is the ‘Pavé du Père Joseph’, a soft cheese with a layer of mustard in the middle. But then there is also the ‘daughter of May’, ‘la fille de Mai’, the Tomme.
Of course, Monsieur Girardin doesn’t want to give away the secret. But you can guess a little bit, because up there in Bourrignon, at just under 800 metres above sea level, the air is still really fresh, the pastures are very spacious, and the cows are happy. And you can taste that in the milk. And that, in turn, has an influence on the cheese with its ‘croûte fleurie’, meaning: floral. It’s a wonderful combination: the slightly nutty flavour combined with the gentle scents of a flower meadow. Very important: although the little cheese is stored in the fridge, you must then give it enough time to develop its full flavour at room temperature. But you must also be careful, as this Tomme quickly goes its own way. Incidentally, a Tomme is so small because it isn’t shared; everyone gets their own ‘fille de Mai’.
Laiterie Fromagerie Bourrignon, Route Principale 16, 2803 Bourrignon. www.laiterie-bourrigon.ch, where there is also a small shop. This is a story from pure, our magazine for contemporary food culture.
Be First to Comment