Toma cheese is defined by a Ministerial Decree of 24 November 1964 which determines it as «hard cheese, made with unfermented cow's or mixed milk, with a dry weighted fat content of no less than 18%. The etymology is uncertain, perhaps from the French tomme, which is often translated as "cheese of Savoy" or "cheese of the Dauphiné" but it could also be derived from the French tumer (to fall), with reference to the precipitation of casein in the curd.
