The Tome fraîche () or Tomme fraîche (''Formatge tomme fresc'') is a hard pressed curd, slightly fermented and unsalted based on cow's milk, traditionally produced in the region of

Aubrac Aubrac () is a volcanic and granitic plateau located in the south-central Massif Central of France. This region has been a member of the Natura 2000 network since August 2006. It straddles three ''départements'' (Cantal, Aveyron and Lozère) an ...

and

Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

in Haute-

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

(Massif central).

History

Tome comes from the occitan word ''toma'' designating a fresh cheese. The French orthography used at the end of the 19th century to designate the fresh volume was tome and not tomme.Armand Florent Pourriau, La laiterie : art de traiter le lait, de fabriquer le beurre et les principaux fromages français et étrangers. Audot Lebroc, Paris, 1895, page 738, ''in'' Lexicographie du mot tomme ou tome, Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales. Lire en lign

Consulté le 20 janvier 2015

In cooking

Typically, cooked in a fondue form. Traditionally used in

aligot Aligot () is a dish made from cheese blended into mashed potatoes (often with some garlic) that is made in L'Aubrac (Aveyron, Cantal, Lozère) region in the southern Massif Central of France. This fondue-like dish from the Aveyron department ...

truffade Truffade is a rural dish traditionally associated with Auvergne in France. It is a sort of thick pancake made with thinly sliced potatoes that are slowly cooked in goose fat until tender, then mixed with thin strips of tome fraîche (which is v ...

and

patranque Patranque () is a rural dish from Auvergne in France made by soaking stale bread in milk and tome fraîche (which is very different from actual tomme cheese: the recipe will fail if tomme cheese is used, since that melts in a very different way) o ...

. Its milky taste, its slight acidity and its melting properties have extended its use to the making of gratins, vegetable pies, pizzas, etc.

History

In cooking

Notes

See also