Cheesy Christmas 17: Tommes aux Fleurs

We’re one week from Christmas Eve, and today’s cheese takes us, originally, to one of the places where I imagine Christmas truly loves to dwell, a place where it’s easy to envision snowy forests and old-world charm decorated to the hilt for the holidays… Austria.

The Tomme aux Fleurs is another cheese that we had last year, so we’ll see if our thoughts have changed, but nonetheless… I love the simple notion of this colourful little cheese.

Another (this time little) catch-up

Another confession. We actually missed having this cheese last night, so we tasted cheeses 17 and 18 together tonight… that’s why you see the two cheeses below.

Making the Tomme aux Fleurs

The Tomme aux Fleurs is made by adding dried petals from a number of edible flowers (mallow, bachelor button, calendula, strawberry, rose and dandelion) to the rind of the cheese is still wet and before it gets set aside for maturing. Due to the timing, the cheese is still ‘taking on’ its definitive flavour and the flower petals are able to contribute to it.

It’s subtle, for sure. I think you’d have to have a pretty refined palate to be able to distinguish, say, the calendula or the bachelor button flavours. I certainly couldn’t… I just appreciate the end result. 🙂

Day #17: Tomme aux Fleurs

Name: Tomme aux Fleurs
The word ‘tomme‘ is used similarly to how we’d use the term ’round’ in English; as in ‘a round of cheese’. The addition of ‘aux fleurs’ just simply reflects the addition of flowers. Originally, it was known as ‘Tomme de Printemps’ (or “Spring round’, likely due to the Spring-time flowers added).
Region: Eastern France
I mentioned that this cheese is originally from Austria, however producers in eastern France were inspired by this cheese and began producing it there as well. It is also produced in France in three main regions: (1) the Haut Rhin / Bas Rhin (Alsace Region – top), (2) the Jura region (middle) and (3) Savoie & Haute Savoie (lower right).
Milk: Pasteurized Cow’s milk
Our Score: 4.9/5
Once again this year, the Tomme aux Fleurs was a real success. It’s a firm cheese that doesn’t have a particularly strong smell that can turn off many a North American. Imagine serving this to a group of gardeners. Again this year a perfectly lovely cheese.