Heat milk to 90 °F.

Add starter culture: For raw milk use (for pasteurized milk use twice these amounts)
2.5 DCU CHOOOZIT MA 4001 or MA 4002 for 500 lb. milk

or CHOOZIT MM series (for more gas production) using 5 DCU for 500 lb. milk + CHOOZIT TA series (S. thermophilus 1 DCU for 500 lb.

or Rosell (Abiasa) Aroma II bulk culture
use ¼ % for raw milk and ½% for pasteurized milk

After 30 minutes add 9-ml single-strength (USA) rennet per 100 lb. cow and goat milk;
add 7-ml single-strength (USA) rennet per 100 lb sheep milk.

Check for curdling time and multiply this by 3.5 for cow and goat milk and 3 for sheep milk to get the time from adding rennet to cutting.
Cut the curd into corn kernel-sized pieces.
Rest curd 5 minutes.

Begin heating: 1 °F every 3 minutes to 95 F, then 1 °F every 2 minutes to 100 °F.
Total heating time is 25 minutes.
Cook higher (up to 102 F) when milk solids are low and (down to 98 °F) when milk solids are high.

Cook at 100 °F for 5-30 minutes to firm curds until they are springy in the grip of your hand.

Let curds settle for 5 min., then drain off whey to the level of curds. Scoop curds into cheese hoops (round forms) lined with cloths. Knead curds into hoops, place follower on top and press with two lb. weight per one lb. curd.

After 30 min. remove weights, take cheese wheels from cloths, turn, replace cloths and press for one hour more. Repeat theis procedure two more times.

After 3-4 hours of pressing turn cheese out of cloths and hoops. Cheese should have pH 5.7- 5.8. Move cheese wheels to cellar @ 55-58 °F.

After 3-5 hours or the following morning put cheese in saturated (20-23% salt) brine. Brine cheese for 3-4 hours per lb. of cheese. Finished wheels are 8-9 inch in diameter and 3 inches thick and weigh 5 lb.

Ripening: After the cheese wheels are removed from the brine place on shelves and turn every other day. During the next few weeks a variety of wild molds will grow on the rind and should be patted down when the cheeses are turned every 2-3 days. Eventually a moldy coat will cover the cheeses in about one month. After this brush the rind every few days to keep the rind from being too thick. Molds are allowed to grow at random but the brushing will create a more uniform appearance.

Three month minimum aging period. Best sold at 3-4 months.

Older cheeses beyond 4 months are susceptible to mite infestation and the quality will deteriorate quickly. It is best to age the cheese at <45 °F after 4 months and stand the cheese wheels on end to keep as much surface area as possible dry.

Ripening alternative:
After removing the cheeses from the brine leave on shelves until the first signs of yeast and mold growth. Turn the cheeses every other day and gently scrub off the growth with 10% salt water solution. Continue doing this for 2 months until the rinds become thicker and after this the cheeses can be turned and washed less frequently. This makes a cheese that keeps better at 55 °F for a longer period of time (maybe up to 8 months) than the previous type of affinage. The rinds will be smoother and straw and brown colored . There will also be highlights of orange and red from the growth B. linens if the rinds are kept more humid.

It is also possible to change from the salt water washing after 2 months to brushing the rinds.

Recipe for Tomme de Savoie from The French Cheese Book by Patrick Rance

15 liters milk for 1.5 kilos cheese. A 1.2-2- kilo cheese is about 18 cm in diameter, 5-8 cm high. the crust should be grey with a spread of red and yellow (mimosa-like) moulds. Paste should be semi-hard, white to yellow, and may have tiny holes called "trous de moulage". 40 percent FDM minimum. Flavor should be full and slightly salty.

Raw milk is renneted at 86-91.5 °F

After 25-30 minutes, harping and stirring (temperature may be raised to 92-97 F) curd is reduced to grain of maize size by further harping or by hand-breaking of curd.

Artificial introduction of bacteria or moulds and washing of curd is forbidden.

After the curd is placed in forms lined with very fine muslin, it is pressed for several hours to release remaining whey. It is then salted in a brine bath or by hand-rubbing.

After four or five days drying it goes into a dry cave. Affinage in caves within the duchy must last at least six weeks. The moulds develop on the coat and are rubbed in by hand every time the cheese is turned. For the first week they may also be rubbed with salt, rubbing then being daily. Rubbing gradually drops in frequency thereafter. "La fleur" develops naturally.

Historical:
"Tomme" is an ancient mountain cheese made in the winter when conditions confine the family to the house and cows to the barn. It is made in farmers households when milk production is limited. The milk cannot be taken to a creamery to contribute towards making big cheeses; nor can cheeses made from it be collected and taken regularly to market. So a cheese is needed that will keep until marketing is possible, to tide the household over the cheeseless period during calving. The cheese is often made from partially skimmed milk as the family would take of some cream for it’s own needs.

These excerpts are from The French Cheese Book by Patrick Rance.

The Italian version of tomme is "toma," which also an alpine cheese and is made throughout the Italian