Tomme L'Estaing. A subtle case.
As mongers, be it retail or wholesale, we constantly battle, “the bigger the better,” mindset. The umbrella theory that cheese with more age and bolder flavors signify quality. This is simply not the case.
I will use Tomme L’Estaing, an ewe’s milk tomme from Bergers Du Larzac, as a prime example.
Bergers Du Larzac was founded in 1996 by a small group of farmers in Aveyron. The co-op was formed in response to being shut out of the Roquefort industry due to extremely large milk quotas. With seemingly no home for their precious ewe’s milk, the solution became to create their own cheese. Over 25 years later, Bergers Du Larzac is thriving, creating a unique array of ewe’s milk tommes and lactics.
Tomme L’Estaing is one of the more noteworthy from the range. A cheese that is both humble in appearance and taste. It does not rely on heavy amounts of salt, rather it relies on the sweetness and quality of the ewe’s milk. The make is very gentle, the curds being uncooked and lightly pressed into moulds. The cheeses are then aged for about 3 months in natural cellars before being released for sale. The profiles also vary depending on the specific pasture the ewe’s are seasonally grazing upon.
Almond, vanilla, herbal lays, these are all notes that call out to you, but in a calm, whispered tone. Without getting too abstract, this cheese is not going to, “knock your head back”. The brilliance is in the balance, the subtlety.
A quick thought for these sweltering days ahead.
Jakob
