According to historical accounts, the monks passed down the recipe for making this cheese from cattle during the alpages to the local buronniers, the owners of burons, or mountain huts.

french-cheese.com describes the flavor as: Today, Laguiole is made in three different départements: Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère by the coopérative Jeune Montagne.

With a 45% fat content, Laguiole has a pressed, uncooked paste made exclusively from raw, unpasteurized French Simmental or Aubrac cow's milk collected between May and October above 800m altitude.

The Tome weighs 40–50 kg (88–110 lb) and is distinguished by a bull sign and its name stamped on the rind, as well as by an aluminum identification plaque.

Traditionally, Tome (or Tomme) de Laguiole is one of the principal ingredients in Aligot (mash potatoes with cheese, cream and butter).