Thomasville Tomme

About this item

 A raw grass-based cow's milk cheese named after its home town in south Georgia. It is made in the style of a Pyrenees tomme, but the higher butterfat milk gives it a more buttery quality. It is exceptional after late summer as the lush pastures the cows graze during their spring milkings give the cheese herbaceous flavors like fennel and sage. A great melting cheese too.

Sweet Grass Dairy, based in Thomasville, GA, was born in December of 2000. After dairying conventionally for 15 years, Al and Desiree Wehner switched their farming method to an intensive grazing management farming style in 1993. In less than a year, they knew they had found a better way to farm. In this method “cows could be cows” and do what nature intended—eat grass! The cows are moved to a fresh pasture every twelve hours and kept cool under a large pivot system. This farming style combined with the natural resources and mild winters in South Georgia keeps the cows living longer, healthier lives on fresh green grass 365 days per year. Cheese was so exciting because it is equally artistic and scientific at the same time. There are only 4 ingredients in cheese (milk, salt, rennet, and cultures) but there are over 900 different kinds of cheese in the world. Handcrafted cheese made in a traditional or old-world style was a perfect vehicle to show off the high quality, grass-based milk.