Abbaye de Tamié
Abbaye de Tamié is a soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk by the monks of Tamié Abbey in Savoie, in the French Alps. It is close in style to Reblochon, with a saffron crust dusted in white down and a creamy paste that firms up toward the centre.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | France |
| Specific Origin | Savoie department |
| Milk Type | Cow's milk |
| Milk Treatment | Unpasteurized |
| Fat Content | 50-53% solids nonfat |
| Rind | Light beige to saffron, thin mold |
| Texture | Soft |
| Flavor | Nutty, milky, delicate to strong with age |
| Aroma | Perfumed, pungent |
| Colors | White |
| Forms | Flat wheel with slightly convex edge (Grand Tamié 1.4-1.5 kg / 3.1-3.3 lb, Petit Tamié 550-600 g / 19-21 oz) |
| Age | Up to 40 days |
| Rennet Type | Calf |
| Alternative Spellings | Tamié, Trappiste de Tamie, Abbey of Tamie |
What is Abbaye de Tamié Cheese?
Abbaye de Tamié is made at Tamié Abbey, near Albertville in the Savoie département of the French Alps. The monks produce it and no one else does. Milk comes from cows on eight farms in the valley, and about 400 kg (880 lb) of cheese leaves the dairy each day. In style it sits close to Reblochon.
The cheese is pressed and moulded into a flat wheel with a slightly convex edge. Its crust turns saffron, and late in ageing a light white down settles over it. Inside, the paste is creamy and even, a little firmer at the centre. Two sizes are sold. Petit Tamié weighs 550 to 600 grams (19 to 21 oz) and goes out whole; Grand Tamié runs 1.4 to 1.5 kg (3.1 to 3.3 lb), has a thinner crust and a softer body, and is sold whole or cut.
Unpasteurised whole milk is warmed to 34 °C (93 °F) and mixed with fermenters cultivated at the abbey. It coagulates for roughly 90 minutes before natural rennet firms the solids. Special knives cut the curd, and the timing and speed of that cut bring the grains down to the size of a pea. After 20 minutes of draining, the curd goes into moulds with small drainage holes and spends about four hours under a machine press. The whey is not thrown out. It becomes methane for the abbey's hot water system.
Salting follows. The wheels sit on pallets in a bath of salty water for two or three hours depending on size, which shapes the taste, builds the crust and preserves the cheese. They then mature in the abbey's vaulted cellars at 14 °C (57 °F) in high humidity, turned by hand every other day, bathed in brine again and rubbed so the mould already living in the cellar can settle on the surface. Weight drops during ageing, the old angels' share. At peak maturity each cheese is packed and labelled by hand, with a best-before date about 45 days after packing.
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