Tuma or Toma is a stage in the production of
Pecorino
Pecorino cheeses are hard Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. The name "" derives from ''pecora'' which means sheep in Italian.
Overview
Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) stat ...
cheese, which comes before adding salt and
maturation. By extension, it also indicates cheese that is consumed or commercialized at this stage of production.
In a broader sense, it can be referred to
fresh cheese
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most comm ...
made of
ewe's milk
Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France).
Sheep breeds
S ...
,
cow's milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...
or a mixture. Originally Tuma was only made from ewe's milk, but nowadays the usage in combination with cow's milk is generally accepted.
The four stages of maturation of the Pecorino cheese are:
* Tuma (directly from the curd)
*
Primosale (addition of salt and maturation for one month)
*
Secondo sale (maturation for at least another four months)
* Pecorino stagionato (any maturation period longer than five-six months)
Cheese products can be consumed at any of those stages and are usually referred to by the last stage completed.
Tuma is a typical product of southern Italy, especially Sicily, being particularly common in the interior areas. Since it is produced from the
curd
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as lemon ...
without the addition of salt, it has to be consumed within one, maximum two weeks or it will
spoil
Spoil or spoils:
*Plunder taken from an enemy or victim
*Material (such as rock, earth or other overburden) removed during:
**excavation
**mining
**dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons f ...
.
In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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and
the Aosta Valley there is a type of cheese, produced with different methods, that has a similar name: ''tomme'' or ''Tome'' in French and ''tuma'' or ''toma'' in the local dialect.
See also
*
List of Italian cheeses
:''This page lists more than 1,000 types of Italian cheese but is still incomplete; you can help by expanding it.''
This is an article of Italian cheeses. Italy is the country with the highest variety of cheeses in the world, with over 2500 tradit ...
References
Elenco e descrizione dei prodotti derivati dal latte riconosciuti come tradizionalidalla
Regione siciliana e allegato all
Gazzetta Ufficiale della Regione Siciliana, Palermo, Sabato 6 febbraio 1999, N. 6* Luigi Cremona e Francesco Soletti
''L'Italia dei formaggi: 490 formaggi Dop e tradizionali, 360 produttori con vendita diretta, 517 negozi specializzati, ristoranti ed enoteche con degustazione'' Guida Touring, Touring Editore, 2002, {{ISBN, 8836527272, p. 125
Italian cheeses
Sheep's-milk cheeses