Tomme de Savoie PGI: The Savoie Doyenne Invited to the Raclette Pan

In short: Tomme de Savoie PGI is the small 1.2 to 2 kg wheel with a gray rind, marked “Savoie” on its heel, that families used to make with skimmed milk. Not a raclette in the official sense, but a choice guest in the pan for anyone who likes that cellar flavor.

Fact sheet checked on 11/02/2026 against the official websites of producers and trade bodies. Do you make this cheese? Write to us to be listed in the directory.

Fact sheet: Tomme de Savoie PGI

Country	France
Region	Savoie and Haute-Savoie
Designation	PGI since 1996 (tomme-de-savoie.com); regional label since 1978
Milk	cow, raw or thermized (specification); at least 75% Abondance, Montbéliarde or Tarine cows per herd, more than 90% of the herd overall
Paste	uncooked pressed
Aging	30 days minimum from renneting (specification), 30 days to 3 months in practice (fromagesdesavoie.fr)
Size	tomme of 1.2 to 2 kg, 18 to 21 cm in diameter, 5 to 8 cm high, marked “Savoie” on the heel; also available in a reduced size of 400 to 900 g
Flavor	mild to robust depending on the aging
Melt	3/5: melts properly but stays firmer and a little drier than a raclette; perfect in a blend

Its story

According to its trade association, tomme is the doyenne of Savoie cheeses. Its first traces go back to the 16th century, in the Duchy of Savoy, but the idea is older: families made butter from the cream and turned the leftover milk into small tommes, the “toma” of the local dialect. A poor man’s cheese, they said, but a precious source of protein to get through the winter. In the 19th century, the village dairies (fruitières) preferred to devote their milk to big wheels of Emmental, Gruyère or Beaufort, and tomme nearly disappeared. In the 1960s, the authorities even refused to protect the name, judged too generic. Producers kept pushing, won a regional label in 1978, then the European PGI in 1996. Today, Tomme de Savoie involves about 670 milk producers, fifteen dairies and twenty-seven farmhouse makers, for nearly 6,400 tonnes a year according to fromagesdesavoie.fr. Not bad for a cheese once said to be doomed.

Video: © Tomme de Savoie PGI (official Savoicime channel), watch on YouTube

Flavor and melt: what happens in the pan

Its gray, mottled rind, sometimes blooming with yellow or red, smells of the cellar and mushrooms. The paste, white to yellow, is firm but supple, with small openings. The trade association describes a lactic, animal flavor that runs from mild to powerful depending on the aging. The particularity is the fat content: Tomme de Savoie comes in several levels, from 20 to 45% of dry matter, a legacy of the skimming. For raclette, go for a 40 or 45% version, which melts better. In the pan, it melts properly, without the blanketing quality of a Raclette de Savoie: the paste stays a little firmer and can separate slightly if heated too long. What you remember is the character it brings in a blend: a slice of tomme slipped under a slice of raclette makes for a more rustic pan. The rind is edible, but it has temperament: not everyone likes it grilled.

On the nose and on the palate: lactic and animal, mushroom and cellar, from mild to powerful depending on the aging

How to serve it

In raclette, Tomme de Savoie blends in better than it rules alone. Plan on 50 to 80 g of tomme per person alongside 150 to 200 g of raclette. Take it out an hour ahead, cut slices of 3 to 4 mm and remove the rind or not depending on your guests. Heat over medium heat and take the pan out as soon as the slice slumps, before the fat starts to bead. For a half tomme to scrape, choose a well-aged, rich piece, and watch the melt, which is slower than with a raclette wheel. Potatoes, dry-cured ham and a walnut salad go with it without masking it. And on the dessert cheese board, it takes back its natural place.

Pairings

• Wines: Jacquère (Apremont, Abymes), Chignin, Gamay de Savoie
• On the table: potatoes, mountain cured meats, country bread, walnut salad

Our recipes with this cheese

• Traditional raclette, the basic recipe
• Raclette-style grilled tartines
• Warm raclette salad with cider vinegar

How much should you plan on? Our guide to raclette cheese quantities per person does the math, and our comparison of the best raclette cheeses shows how it stacks up against the others.

Tomme de Savoie PGI producers: the directory

Four families of producers, from the giant to the small mountain dairy. Contact details taken from their official websites; logos are displayed from those sites, with credit.

The biggest producers

The largest volumes: industrial makers and big cooperatives.

The best known

The brands you run into in stores.

The most renowned

Medal winners, prizewinners and renowned affineurs, with a sourced distinction.

Small local producers

Farms, mountain dairies and village cheese dairies.

Where to buy it

Tomme de Savoie PGI is sold all over Savoie, at cheese shops, village dairies, markets and supermarkets. To spot the real thing, look for the word “Savoie” around the edge of the heel and the PGI logo on the label. The fat content must also be shown, since tomme comes in several versions, from the lightest to the creamiest. A “mountain” or “Alps” tomme is not a Tomme de Savoie. Farmhouse versions, rarer, are worth the detour to the producers, and village cooperatives often offer several agings side by side.

More addresses in our guide on where to buy good raclette cheese.

Video: © Tomme de Savoie PGI (official channel): L’Instant Tomme with Jacques Dubouloz, cheesemaker and affineur, watch on YouTube

Follow them on social media

• Tomme de Savoie PGI (official page linked from tomme-de-savoie.com) (facebook)

Frequently asked questions

Can you make raclette with Tomme de Savoie?

Yes, especially blended with a real raclette. On its own, it melts less well; choose a rich tomme (40 to 45%) that is well aged.

Why does Tomme de Savoie come in several fat levels?

It was made with the skimmed milk left after butter-making. Today it comes in 20 to 45% fat in dry matter, according to the trade body.

How can you spot a real Tomme de Savoie PGI?

It bears the word “Savoie” on the heel or the top, the PGI logo on the label, and weighs between 1.2 and 2 kg, or 400 to 900 g in the reduced size.

Read also: all raclette cheeses, the secrets of a great raclette and what is raclette?

Sources

• PGI sheet: raw milk, 1.2 to 2 kg, 18 to 21 cm, aging, fat content, volumes and number of producers: fromagesdesavoie.fr/igp-tomme-de-savoie
• PGI specification approved on December 16, 2019 (raw or thermized milk, breeds, sizes, 30 days of aging): info.agriculture.gouv.fr/boagri/document_administratif-f5bec3
• History: 16th century, label 1978, PGI 1996: tomme-de-savoie.com/lhistoire-de-la-tomme-de-savoie-1369
• Official Tomme de Savoie PGI website (Savoicime), social networks and logo: tomme-de-savoie.com
• Cheese results of the 2026 Concours Général Agricole (relayed by Le Guide du Fromage): leguidedufromage.com/resultats-concours-general-agricole-fro
• Chabert: Tomme de Savoie PGI, producing fruitières: fruitieres-chabert.com/tomme-de-savoie
• Pochat taken over by Lactalis (2005): dairyreporter.com/Article/2005/01/06/Lactalis-continues-rece
• Pochat: head office, phone, email (legal notice): pochatetfils.fr/mentions-legales
• GAEC reconnu de Vorzier: active company, address (register, SIREN 338431935): recherche-entreprises.api.gouv.fr/search?q=gaec%20de%20vorzi
• Pochat: Tomme de Savoie PGI range: pochatetfils.fr/nos-fromages-de-savoie
• Paccard awards: reblochon-paccard.fr/a-propos/palmares
• Coopérative du Val d’Arly: Tomme de Savoie PGI, history since 1969: coopvaldarly.com
• Coopérative du Val d’Arly: head office and phone (legal notice): coopvaldarly.com/content/2-mentions-legales