I’m very happy to share a cheese that we have never tasted before until today. Tommes aux fleurs.
Tomme aux fleurs comes from the Austrian Alps and is a raw milk cheese that has wild edible flowers and herbs pressed into its rind during the ageing process.
I guess it’s fair to say we were a bit reticent. Not quite sure if we fancied it or not, dried flowers with cheese. But, it’s absolutely wonderful. The flowers and herbs give an intense flavour hit to the cheese. Just delicious.
Cornflowers, mallow, hay, safflower, roses and blue leaf clover are dried and then pressed onto the cheese. Some producers use spices as well.
Our had strong floral notes and just a hint of curry. Curry leaf maybe.
Forget this cheese if you cut off the rind as it’s all about that. Without the rind it tastes similar to a mild Cheddar albeit with a slightly different flavour, with the rind it takes it to another dimension.
Apparently it’s considered the best of the Austrian cheeses but has not been popular in France for long. It certainly seems to be popping up in most of the interesting cheese shops these days.
