Sometimes, a cheese is first made for very practical reasons. In the mountainous Savoie region of France, cheesemakers produce large wheels, like the alpine cheese Beaufort, that require many months of aging. Thus, cheesemakers must wait for it to reach ideal ripeness before heading to market. Enter Tomme de Savoie, a small cheese made from leftover milk that ripens faster and can be sold quickly. And as with many things delicious and snackable, Tomme de Savoie gained its own following, and became the main product for many cheesemakers, instead of simply a byproduct of another cheese.

However, Tomme de Savoie has maintained the rustic look and flavor of its beginnings. The rind is decidedly fuzzy, can be slightly lumpy, and mottled grey and brown. Although tomme refers to a size not a style, this nobbily rind is traditional of many tommes coming the Savoie and France in general. It is supposed to be a cheese that can be knocked about while doing farm chores or hiking up a mountain, and be eaten casually, rather than carefully savored at every bite. We recommend enjoying this earthy, mellow, slightly tangy cheese just so, without much fanfare but with great gusto, hopefully while scaling an Alp. If an Alp isn’t readily available, we think snacking on the Tomme while sitting on your front stoop will also be quite pleasant.