Tartufella di Capra al Tartufo

The Tartufella di Capra is a semi-aged cheese with semi-cooked paste, produced with pasteurised goat's milk and black summer truffle (Tuber aestivum Vittadini) incorporated directly into the paste. The cylindrical shape with high and domed rind, with a thin washed rind, is the result of a production technique that combines two unusual elements: the semi-cooked paste — obtained by heating the curd up to 46 °C — and the washed rind, a treatment typical of cheeses with centripetal maturation. This combination gives the Tartufella a compact and dry internal structure, with little elasticity, clearly distinct from the softness of fresh goat cheeses. The truffle, present at 0.3% (Tuber aestivum 62.5%), is distributed uniformly in the paste without being invasive: its role is flavouring, not dominant.

Main characteristics

• Milk: pasteurised goat's milk
• Truffle: Black Summer (Tuber aestivum Vitt.), 0.3% in the paste, incorporated before moulding
• Technique: semi-cooked paste (curd heated to 46 °C), washed rind
• Shape: cylindrical, high and domed rind
• Paste: white, compact, dry, not very elastic, with uniform dark speckling
• Rind: thin, washed, with mushroom scent and animal notes of medium intensity
• Ageing: semi-aged

Sensory profile

• Appearance: regular cylindrical shape; white paste with homogeneous distribution of dark truffle fragments; thin light-coloured rind
• Aroma: mushroom and truffle in the foreground on the rind, with goat animal background of medium intensity; vegetal notes in the background
• Taste: goat, truffle and mushrooms as main aromas; slight vegetal and dried fruit nuances at the margins; sweet and salty balanced, no bitterness
• Texture: paste soluble in the mouth, dry and not elastic; when cut leaves a slight drag on the knife; truffle not dominant, well integrated

How to serve

• At room temperature on a board, alongside chestnut or thyme honey and walnuts
• Cut into thick slices on rye bread or wholegrain crostini
• Melted on polenta, on mushroom risotto or on fresh pasta with butter and sage
• Paired with red onion or fig jam to balance the goat note
• Paired with a young medium-bodied red wine with defined fruity notes and slight astringency: Friulian Schioppettino, Barbera d'Asti, Alto Adige Pinot Nero; or non-bitter craft lager

Why choose it
The Tartufella occupies a precise space among flavoured goat cheeses: it is neither fresh and spreadable like a creamy chèvre, nor aged and intense like a pecorino. The semi-cooked paste with washed rind gives it structure and sliceability, making it suitable both for the cheeseboard and for cooking. The truffle, dosed to flavour without overpowering, allows the basic goat profile to be perceived — the distinction from truffle-flavoured cow's milk cheeses is clear. In the European specialty goat cheese market, it is a product that combines visual recognisability, original production technique and versatility of use.