Italian Food & Wine Word of the Week: Tomino di Melle

Nestled in the foothills of the Alps sits the tiny, sleepy village of Melle from whence this delightful cheese hails. Almost medieval in character, the tiny hill of San Maurizio just outside of Melle holds the treasured secret of Tumin dal Mel.

...or Tumin dal Mel as they say in Piemontèis

  Nestled in the foothills of the Alps sits the tiny, sleepy village of Melle from whence this delightful cheese hails. Almost medieval in character, the tiny hill of San Maurizio just outside of Melle holds the treasured secret of Tumin dal Mel.  

  Possibly dating back to Roman times and with written mentions as early as the 11th Century, this small cylindrical raw or semi-cooked cow's milk cheese from Piemonte, Italy is a real crowd-pleaser due to its versatility. Fragrant and subtle when young and pungent when aged it provides appeal to most palates depending on its stage of ripeness. The image above shows the cheese in a quite youthful, even gooey state, delightfully nutty and mild. When in the early stages of ripeness, this cheese pairs very well with dolcetto and when aged, a more sturdy Barolo would be in order.

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Sources: http://italianmade.com/food-details/toma-piemontese-2-242.html http://www.regione.piemonte.it/agri/vetrina/prodottitipici/pat/caseari/tominodimelle.htm my own travels to the region all images  ©2011 Raelinn Doty