Making Fresh Tomini Cheese at Home

Super fresh Tomini Cheese

Tomini Cheese, in this part of Piemonte, Italy, means a soft fresh cheese that looks a lot like miniature ricotta cheese. Looking up Tomini in the large Piedmont chapter of our Slow Food book on Italian cheeses, Tomini is referred to as Tomini di Talucco, which happens to be the valley just on the other side of our on hillside, and it refers to it as pure goats cheese. It also states that the territory of origin comes from not only Talucco, but Grandubbione, which is where our road deadends  5 km further up the road from our house. It is the only Tomino listed in book which covers ever single region of Italy. So this type of cheese really is from our neighborhood. 

Here the Tomino is eaten in it's fresh state after a day of settling and letting the water drain out, it is salted top and bottom. Tradition is also to mature the cheese after it has firmed up by dusting them with some black or red pepper, or domestic or wild thyme and then place it in a earthenware vessel called an "ule", or glass jars, till it is ripened to the cheese makers taste. My mother in law loves to ripen them till they are quite aromatic.

Earthenware "ule" for ripening tomini cheeses, missing its lid

Ripened Tomini using black pepper and hot red pepper

So in our part of northern Italy Tomini was made completely with whole goat milk, although with changing times and palates you will find it also made with half goat and half cows milk or an all cows milk variety for those that like the style of cheese but not so fond of goat milk. I love goat cheese, so I'm a fan of the original, but not opposed to the other varieties. They are all delicious.

There is also a variety of Tomini that is sometimes called dry Tomini that has been innoculate to form a white crust similar to brie cheese. Most cheese makers here call this type of cheese Pagliarine. It's a great cheese, but to me it tastes nothing like the Tomini type that is typical to here. 

Dry Tomini or what most cheese makers here call Pagliarine

I've seen a variety of cheese makers work their their magic and thought why not give it a go at home since it seems relatively easy and I have access to fresh unpasteurized milk from what I like to call our mechanical cow over in Pinerolo.   It's great because it still has the cream on top once it sits and it truly is delicious. It's our very own local milk without the milking. 

Fresh unpasteurized milk, €1 per liter

We have a lot of cheesemakers in our valleys and a long history of being famous for our cheeses. Its been said that General Hannibal, of the elephant fame, crossed the Alps around 3through our valleys because it was not only the quickest way to cross, but it was an opportunity to try and nourish his dwindling number of men on our Alpine dairy products, most notably cheese. 

A few years back we went to a Tomini cheese making demonstration in Talucco at Agriturismo Pinareul Arios, which just happens to be cousins in the extended way that people are related when your family has lived in the neighborhood for many generations. They still make their Tomini over a wood fired stove and it all done by hand within the family. They also operate a charming dining room that features their delicious genuine home grown and made food and is famous, not only for their Tomini, but for also their Fritto Misto alla Piemontese , an extravaganza of all sorts of savory and sweet fried foods. It's a popular indulgence in these parts and they do it well.

Hand produced Tomini di Talucco at Pinareul Arios

We also take guests up our Chisone valley to Vento Grigio Farm for a demonstration of milking and Tomino making complete with a light picnic lunch outdoors with a fabulous view of the Chisone valley and a change to have a go at milking a goat if you want to. Naturally we get to sample some of Cesare's pure goat cheese Tomino and you won't be disappointed. 

Milking Goats at Vento Grigio

So now you can try and make some at home, as it isn't difficult, you just need some good quality whole milk, cows or goat, a large stainless steel cooking pot (needs to hold at least 5 quarts liquid), some rennet for producing the curds, something to hold the curds  and shape the cheese while allowing the water or whey to drain out. 

There are proper forms that you can find from cheese making suppliers or some cheese cloth lining a strainer or colander that you could use  while you decide if this is something you might make more than once in a blue moon. 

Tomino making steps

Tomino Cheese 

12 approximately cheeses, depending on how well you fill them

Equipment:

1 - 5 liter cook pot, stainless steel best

Cooking thermometer

5 cm x 4-5 cm (2inch x 1.75 inch) round cheese form for draining cheese in (strainer lined with cheese cloth will work) 

Ingredients:

4 liters ( 4 quarts) whole milk, best if unpasteurized, but can make it with pasteurized milk

2 grams per liter (8 g = 1.6 tsp ) caglio ( rennet or vegetable rennet) 

Method:

If the milk has been refrigerated, let the milk set out to bring it to room temperature before heating. 

Place ambient temperature milk (37*C /  98.6*F)  in the large pot. 

Slowly raise the temperature of the milk to at least 75*C (167*F) that will pasteurize the milk. 

The milk can go as high as 85*C (185*F) 

According to some cheese makers, bringing the milk to 75*C-85*C (167*F-186*F)  pasteurizes the milk but leaves some good bacteria that adds flavor and nutrition. 

If you heat the milk all the way to 90*C (194*F) it sterilizes the milk. 

Once the milk reaches the desired temperature hold the milk there for at least 5 minutes.  

My pots hold the heat quite well, so I turned the heat off and kept the thermometer in the milk to make sure the heat didn't dip below the 75* mark until after the 5 minutes. Descriptions of making Tomini states the milk needs to go to 85*C, but cheese makers seem to have varying opinions on this point. It seems to be their twist on making the Tomino recipe their own.

Allow the milk to cool down in the cooking pot to 38* (194*F). 

While the milk is cooling measure out your caglio (rennet) and have it ready to add immediately at 38*C (195*F) 

The temperature can drop quickly so keep a close eye on the temperature of the milk.

Add the caglio (rennet) and stir throughly to distribute the rennet. Cover the pot with a lid and allow to cool undisturbed for at least 40 minutes - 2 hours.  You can raise the lid to peak in just don't stir or move the pot gently if needed so as not to disturb the milk curds. I did the 40 minutes one time and it didn't seem to be enough time for mine to set properly, so now I just go with the 2 hour timing. 

Once you let it cool down you will find that the milk has softly solidified and pulled away from the sides of the pan. There will be a clearish whey formed between the cheese and the pot. 

Take a long handled spoon or metal spatula and start by making a long cut through the top to the bottom of the curd and draw a line horizontally toward you. Lift the spatula out make the same motion horizontally across the curd to form the blessing of the cross. 

Then gently cut the curds up the same way throughout the whole of the pan until the curds form and the whey begins to be throughout the whole pot. Let the curd set for a few minties and then either scoop up the curds with your form or fill the forms gently lifting the curds and pouring then into the draining forms. Fill a few forms and keep going back to refill, as the curds will give a lot of whey even after sitting. 

**Do not let the cheeses sit in the drained whey because it is bitter from the rennet and will give an off flavor to the cheese. There are draining trays here for helping with that problem, but even with those you must keep watching them for a few hours as they will give off whey for a couple of days. After the first few hours the amount will slow down, but be very vigilant with making sure the cheese does not rest for very long in the whey. 

They can be eaten after a couple of hours, but will be quite soft. I would let the others sit at least over night if you can before unmolding them to stand on their own. If desired, you can sprinkle a bit of salt on the top and bottom of the individual cheeses, but not everyone does that. Many people here prefer them with out the salt to taste the freshness os the milk. its a bit like unsalted and salted butter. They both have their place. You can always salt them to taste when eating. 

The cheeses will last several days to a week ot so depending on your salting or not and how you hold them. I keep the nin the refrigerator unless I am going to salt them and dry them with a bit of pepper or herbs. After a day or two of air drying you can then put them in the jars or earthenware jar. They will get strong tasting after a week or so and you can ripen them to taste. Usually for us, they never get that far, as we will have eaten them with tomatoes, and a drizzle of good olive oil or hot pepper oil, a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper for a delicate fresh cheese that you made yourself. 

Do enjoy.

Fresh Tomini cheese with a parsley garnish

*The whey is good as an addition to bread and some types of baked goods. It has also been used in making home made soap. You will find that many animals will enjoy the rennet also, but not all. 

Porcini e Tomini in Pasta Sfoglia

Boletus Edulis/Porcini Moro

The long winter with it's abundance of snow has replenished our somewhat depleted water table making the mushroom population flourish more easily when the conditions lends itself to finding those fat darlings we affectionately call porcini around these parts. The springtime is a short and sweet season, for the most part, usually consisting of what are referred to as the bianci and not the more prized moro. or roughly translated as black, which to my eye seems more in the red color, but it makes sense overall. As I frequently gas on about how my in laws are keen mushroom hunters, they didn't disappoint this spring either. The little basket above is one of their small daily finds a couple of weeks ago and so a few assorted dishes came together. Porcini risotto is a standard favorite in our house, and of course with an number of simple pastas dishes, which of course fresh made pasta always gets my vote hands down. One of my other favorite "easy does it" standards, is a mushroom and cheese strudel. Use your favorite puff pastry, hand made or store bought and get on with it. It comes together quickly and is sure to impress no matter who is lucky enough to enjoy it with you.

Porcino and Cheese Strudel

Ingredients

puff pastry sheet, (250g or 7-8 oz sheet) home made or store bought
you want a rectangular sheet about 9"x12"1/2cm(1/4") thick

250g -300g (8 0z) porcini, fresh, cleaned, thick sliced and cut into chunky bits
or
8 oz fresh crimini or white mushrooms, sliced
10-15g dry porcini, rehydrated in warm water for a 5-10 minutes
20g (2T) onion, red, white or shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
30g (2 T) butter or a 50/50 mix of olive oil and butter
1 T/sprig or two of fresh thyme, chopped. I like some of the lemon and plain thyme mixed
1 bay leaf broken to release the flavor
5g (2T) parsley, chopped
50-60ml (1/4c) white wine

100g Tomini cheese or soft cheese, ricotta or mascarpone would work also

egg wash (whole egg and a few drops of water whisked together/ or straight whites and water)

Method
Preheat your oven to 190*C/375*

Saute’ the mushrooms, onion, and garlic till soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the herbs and continue to cook another 5 minutes or so.
Before the mixture picks up much color, deglaze the pan with our white wine.
Continue cooking till all the alcohol has evaporated and only pan juices remain.
Use a bit more oil or stock or water if you need a bit more moisture. You do want a fairly dry mixture.
Cool the mix.
Cut your cheese up into 1/4" slices or chunks
Add to the mushrooms when they have cooled down a bit
If using ricotta or mascarpone, you will smear this on the bottom of your sheet of pastry.

Lay your pastry out flat on your sheet tray that has been oiled or on top of a sheet of baking paper, which is my preference.
Fold your pastry length wise in half.
Cut 1/2" wide strips 1/2 of the way to the edge, starting 1 1/2"-2" from the top and bottom.
Carefully open your pastry and lay flat again.
Spread your soft cheese on one side of the uncut pastry, leaving a 1/4 inch empty edge.
Cover with your mushroom and cheese mixture.
Brush the edge with your egg wash.
Bring the pastry over the top and seal by pressing the edges together with a fork or
Work your way around the three cut edges, curling the bottom and top dough together pressing the dough back in on itself, making sure the bottom dough stretches up and over the top dough, making a nice decorative edge and seal.
Brush your whole pastry with your egg wash making sure not to clog your slits so the steam will escape and all will bake and keep it's shape.
Bake in a hot oven for around 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked on the bottom and the top is crisp and brown.
Cool a few minutes before cutting into wedges.
If you are feeling flush you can even serve it on a bed of sauteed mushrooms

Cooks notes
A couple of puff pastry recipes if you want to make your own.
Easy short cut puff pastry recipe by Gordon Ramsey, here in grams or more traditional variety here in a puff pastry video demo, by Ms Glaze's Pommes d'Amour

A Tomini for you and me

Recently, we hosted guests that were celebrating a special birthday in a special way. They wanted to cook, drink and experience the culinary offerings of our slice of Piedmont. Fabrizio and I were only too happy to guide them on this journey as we navigated our way through the Pinerolo market, local vineyards with samplings of the fruits of their labor, and a hands on cheese making lesson culminating with a tasty antipasto to make again, once back home. It probably will be challenging to find a fresh, soft cheese like our Tomini when they try it back home, and they certainly won't find any quite as fresh, but they will have a good basis for appreciating the labor that goes into making cheese, I think.

We arrived at the fattoria just as the milk was ready to form curds and be ladled up, thereby missing out on the more strenuous milking and the waiting game for the milk to reach the appropriate temperature for making the magic happen. Once all these elements came together, we all had a go at gently gathering them up and depositing them into the draining forms that gives a Tomini it's name. Then after a brief rest, for the cheese, that is, we worked on mastering the more delicate process of flipping them over, before they come to rest againin order to continue draining out the remainder of the whey .

Mastering the art of the flip.

Our host and teacher made it look quite simple, but she does have the advantage of endless daily cheese making sessions of the various cheeses. The cows just keep on giving milk day in and day out, no holidays, and they just keep making the Toma, Tomini and ricotta, just to name the main ones that are produced in our part of the alps.

So when we made an antipasto with the fresh Tomino with a couple of varieties of tomatoes that we had purchased in the market, there was a small competition amongst the group as to whom had made the best plate presentation. I thought they were all good, but this is the one that seemed to translate best in a photograph. Let the taunting begin.

Simple Tomini Pomodori Antipasto

Take fresh Tomini towers and slice them into 1/2 inch/ 2 cm rounds. One Tomino will feed two people.
You could use ricotta or any other fresh soft cheese that you can find in place of this local specialty

Slice some of your favorite just barely ripe tomatoes into same size rounds. One to two tomatoes per person.
We used Cuore di Bue(Ox heart) and Camone from Sardenga, as our local tomatoes are not quite ripe yet.
These local favorites make a nice blend as the former is full flavored and mild and the small Camone are tart and juicy. Dicing a few for additional garnish is a nice touch as well.
Finely chop rucola (arugula/rocket) into a chiffonade or small bits to make a nice bed for your stacks.
Alternate tomato and cheese rounds with some finely torn fresh basil.
A sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Drizzle all with hot pepper olive oil or any other good quality oil or flavored oil.
Serve at room temperature.
A zippy start to any meal.

Tomini Platter

Well now for something besides rain and the weather, although it hasn't completely let up yet, e are at least getting some sunshine sprinkled in with the showers.
This was a platter of local Tomini cheese that our neighbor down the road from us in Grandubbione has been making for at least the past 30 years when her family "retired" to the end of our road with their son and his wife to raise a few cows and goats for cheese with a few chickens and a menagerie of exotic birds and the usual hanger-ons, like the barn cats and herding dogs. Nina makes the best Tomini around. It's a light ricotta type cheese of which she makes two varieties, one, all cows milk and the other a mix of goat and cow's milk. Fresh out of the form, it's silken texture melts in your mouth leaving the most delicate flavor. Sliced into thick rounds, dressed with a generous amount of flavorful oil, fresh herbs, like dill or basil, you'll have the locals favorite. My personal favorite is paired with our anchovy stuffed peperoncini for a nice biting contrast to it's silky smooth mouthfeel.
Or just sliced with the flavorful oil, herbs and pansies on top makes for a delightful offering.