Tomme de Nena
- Producer
- Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese / Standard Market
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Kentucky
- Size
- 8 in diameter x 8 in height
- Weight
- 6 lbs
- Website
- www.kennyscheese.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Raw
- Classification
- Hard
- Rennet
- Vegetable
- Rind
- Washed
- Style
- Alpine-style
- Flavor
- Flavor added to rind
It may have a francophone name, but this is definitely an American original. Unlike tommes from across the pond, which are made from curds of skim milk leftover from buttermaking, Nena is made with the same double-crème curd that Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese uses to make brie-style cheese. And instead of growing a moldy rind, wheels are washed in a range of local ales while aging for a totally different take on the French classic.
Father-and-son team Kenny and Jared run Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese on their farm in Austin, Kentucky, where a mixed-breed herd of Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss cows spends most of its time grazing outside on fresh pasture or munching on high-quality alfalfa hay.
Kenny and Jared send a portion of their freshly pressed and salted wheels to the Countryside Cave managed by Standard Market near Chicago, where they’re washed in Revolution Brewery’s Eugene Porter several times a week. At two months, the wheels are dense and fudgy with a buttery taste, and at four to six months they firm up, becoming more earthy and malty with a blossoming nuttiness and notes of oatmeal. The rind develops a dark, rich mahogany color.
Pairings
Kenny’s cheesemakers suggest melting this firm beauty down into a Mornay sauce, or piling it into an “advanced-level” grilled cheese. Standard Market’s Porter-washed version pairs with beer, of course; try milk stouts, barley wines, and double IPAs. The same wheels shine alongside dry Alsatian wines, pinot noirs and Syrahs. For a spirit pairing, try a high-rye mashbill bourbon.
