Toma Piemontese

Toma Piemontese is a PDO-protected Italian cheese produced exclusively from cows' milk, available in two varieties: full-fat (intero), made from whole milk, and half-fat (semigrasso), made from partially skimmed milk. The designation requires the entire production process, from cattle rearing through ageing, to take place within a defined area of Piedmont.

About this designation

Toma Piemontese holds PDO status, registered under file number PDO-IT-0026 with eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013008, with EU protection dating from 25 June 1993. The protected name as registered is 'Toma Piemontese'. The applicant body is the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Toma Piemontese. The cheese is produced exclusively from cows' milk — whole milk for the full-fat variety and partially skimmed milk for the half-fat variety. Permitted ingredients are cows' milk, salt, calf's rennet, lactic acid enzymes and/or natural inocula where required; natural cultures must be produced in the production area and/or result from previous processing. The milk used may be raw or heat-treated. The defined geographical area comprises the provinces of Novara, Vercelli, Biella, Torino, Cuneo, and Verbania Cusio Ossola, together with specified municipalities in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria. The entire production process — cattle rearing, milk production, coagulation, curd processing, forming, draining, salting, and ageing — must take place within this area. Cattle must be fed mainly on green or preserved fodder or hay from meadows, pasture land, or meadow-pasture land within the defined area. The finished cheese is cylindrical, with a diameter of 15–35 cm, a side width of 6–12 cm, and a weight of 1.8 to 9 kg, measured after the minimum ageing period. Fat content of the dry matter must be not less than 40% for the full-fat variety and not less than 20% for the half-fat variety. The rind is declared inedible in the specification. Authenticity is established through a paper label (14 cm to 27 cm in diameter), a branding stamp, and a plastic origin seal bearing the producer's alphanumerical code. The half-fat variety carries an additional letter 'S' on both the seal and the label.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 25 June 1993 under file number PDO-IT-0026 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013008).
• The specification defines two distinct varieties: full-fat (whole milk, minimum 40% fat in dry matter) and half-fat (partially skimmed milk, minimum 20% fat in dry matter).
• The entire production chain — from cattle rearing and milk production through ageing — must take place within the defined Piedmontese geographical area.
• Each cheese must carry a plastic origin seal bearing the producer's alphanumerical code; the half-fat variety is additionally marked with the letter 'S' on both the seal and the paper label.

Tasting notes

Piedmontese cow's milk cheese in fresh and aged versions. Fresh (15+ days): pale ivory soft paste, mild milky-grassy flavor. Aged (60+ days, including Toma di Lanzo and other sub-styles): straw-yellow firmer paste, intense alpine-herb savory flavor.

HoReCa use

On Piedmontese cheese boards; melted in fonduta; component of regional pasta dishes; aged grated over agnolotti.

Packaging

• wheel-full-1.8-9kg
• wedge-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-250g